GTPase inhibitors and methods of use

ABSTRACT

The preferred embodiments generally relate to methods and compositions that affect the GTP-binding activity of members of the Rho family GTPases, preferably Rac (Rac1, Rac2 and/or Rac3), such compositions include compounds that modulate the GTP/GDP exchange activity, along with uses for the compounds including screening for compounds which recognize Rac GTPase, and methods of treating pathological conditions associated or related to a Rho family GTPase, including Rac. The preferred embodiments also relate to methods of using such compounds, or derivatives thereof, e.g., in therapeutics, diagnostics, and as research tools.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent No. 60/523,599, entitled “GTPase inhibitors andmethods of use,” filed Nov. 20, 2003, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

This invention was made in part with Government support under Grant No.R01 GM60523 and No. R01 GM53943 awarded by the National Institutes ofHealth. The Government can have certain rights in this invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to methods and compositions thataffect the GTP-binding activity of members of the Ras superfamilyGTPases, along with uses for the compounds including screening forcompounds that recognize Rac GTPase, and methods of treatingpathological conditions associated or related to a Ras superfamilyGTPase.

2. Description of the Related Art

Rho family GTPases are molecular switches that control signalingpathways regulating cytoskeleton reorganization, gene expression, cellcycle progression, cell survival, and other cellular processes(Etienne-Manneville, 2002), which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Rho family proteins constitute one of three major branches of the Rassuperfamily. Rho proteins share approximately 30 percent amino acididentity with the Ras proteins. At least 14 mammalian Rho familyproteins have been identified thus far, including RhoA, RhoB, RhoC,RhoD, RhoE/Rnd3, Rnd1/Rho6, Rnd2/Rho7, RhoG, Rac1, Rac2, Rac3, Cdc42,TC10, and TTF.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments provide compounds that are potent andselective inhibitors of Rho GTPases. Specifically, these compounds canbe used to inhibit Rho-related Rac GTPase. These inhibitors can be usedto treat diseases associated with Rac disregulation. Furthermore, thesecompounds can be used to treat cancers associated with Racdisregulation. In view of their activity, these compounds can also besed in treating other disorders responding to the inhibition of Rac.

One embodiment comprises a method for treating an indication mediated bymammalian Rho family proteins, comprising administering to a subject inneed of such treatment a safe and effective amount of at least onecompound having the formula (IIa):

wherein:R₁ to R₂ are independently selected from the group consisting of H,—X-Alk, —X-Alk-X′, and —X—Y—X′; wherein X is —CR₇R₈; X′ is —CHR₇R₈; Alkis a C₂ -C₁₈ substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon chain; Y is aC₂-C₈ substituted or unsubstituted alkylene chain; R₆ is H or (C1-C4)alkyl; and R₇ and R₈ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of H or (C1-C4) alkyl or a salt of a compound of formula(IIa).

In Paragraph [0007], Alk is substituted with halo, halo (C1-C4) alkoxy,(C3 -C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, or acetyl.

In Paragraph [0007], Y is substituted with an NR₆ group.

One embodiment comprises a method for treating an indication mediated bymammalian Rho family proteins, comprising administering to a subject inneed of such treatment a safe and effective amount of at least onecompound having the formula (III):

wherein:R₁₀ to R₁₂ are independently selected from the group consisting of H,halo, (C1-C4) alkyl, branched (C3-C4) alkyl, halo (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4)alkoxy, NO₂, and NH₂; or a salt of a compound of formula (III).

In Paragraph [0010], R₁₀ to R₁₂ are independently selected from thegroup consisting of H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or branched (C3-C4) alkyl.

One embodiment comprises a method for treating an indication mediated bymammalian Rho family proteins comprising administering to a subject inneed of such treatment a safe and effective amount of at least onecompound having the formula (IV):

or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.

In Paragraph [0007], the compound isN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamine.

In Paragraph [0007], the mammalian Rho family GTPase is selected fromthe group consisting of RhoA, RhoB, RhoC, RhoD, RhoE/Rnd3, Rnd1/Rho6,Rnd2/Rho7, RhoG, Rac1, Rac2, Rac3, Cdc42, TC10, TTF/RhoH, RhoL, Chp,WRCH1, TCL, RIF, and combinations thereof.

In Paragraph [0014], the Rho GTPase is selected from the groupcomprising Rac1, Rac2, Rac3, and combinations thereof.

In Paragraph [0015], the Rho GTPase is Rac1.

In Paragraph [0007], the compound interacts with the Rho regulatorypathway via interaction with a Rac GTPase.

In Paragraph [0017], the Rac GTPase is selected from the groupconsisting of Rac1, Rac2, and Rac3.

In Paragraph [0017], the Rac GTPase is Rac1.

In Paragraph [0007], the indication is selected from the groupconsisting of leukemia, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreascancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, head and neck cancer,colon cancer, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer andmelanoma.

In Paragraph [0007], the indication is abnormal cell proliferation.

In Paragraph [0007], the indication is cancer cell proliferation.

In Paragraph [0007], the indication is selected from the groupconsisting of hypertension, atherosclerosis, restenosis, cerebralischemia, cerebral vasospasm, neuronal degeneration, spinal cord injury,cancer of the breast, colon, prostate, ovaries, brain or lung,thrombotic disorders, asthma, glaucoma, osteoporosis and erectiledysfunction.

One embodiment comprises a pharmaceutical composition comprisingN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamineand a pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.

In Paragraph [0024],N6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediaminecompound is at least 1% by weight.

In Paragraph [0024], the pharmaceutical composition further comprises anadditional pharmaceutically active agent.

In Paragraph [0026], the second pharmaceutically active agent isselected from the group consisting of farnesyl protein transferaseinhibitors, prenyl-protein transferase inhibitors,geranylgeranyl-protein transferase inhibitors, toxins and combinationsthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the preferred embodiments are set forth withparticularity in the appended claims. The preferred embodiments,however, both as to organization and methods of operation, together withfurther objects and advantages thereof, can best be understood byreference to the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1. shows identification of NSC23766 as an inhibitor of Rac1-Triointeraction.

FIG. 2. shows dose dependent specific inhibition of GEF interaction withRac1 by NSC23766.

FIG. 3 shows that NSC23766 was effective in specifically inhibiting Rac1GDP/GTP exchange stimulated by GEF.

FIG. 4. shows that NSC23766 was effective in specifically inhibitingRac1 activation in cells.

FIG. 5. shows that NSC23766 specifically inhibited Rac GEF stimulatedcell growth and transformation.

FIG. 6. shows that NSC23766 inhibited the proliferation, anchorageindependent growth and invasion of PC-3 prostate cancer cells.

In the following description of the illustrated embodiments, referencesare made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which theinvention can be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments can be utilized, and structural and functional changes canbe made without departing from the scope of the preferred embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Throughout this document, all temperatures are given in degrees Celsius,and all percentages are weight percentages unless otherwise stated. Thefollowing are definitions of terms used in this specification. Theinitial definition provided for a group or term herein applies to thatgroup or term throughout the present specification, individually or aspart of another group, unless otherwise indicated. The followingdefinitions, unless otherwise defined, apply to preferred embodiments:

The terms “active compounds” or “active agents” refer to any one of theagents described by formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa or IV.

The term “alkyl” refers to straight or branched chain hydrocarbon groupshaving 1 to 12 carbon atoms, or more, preferably 1 to 8 carbon atoms.Lower alkyl groups, that is, alkyl groups of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, aremost preferred.

The term “substituted alkyl” refers to an alkyl group as defined abovehaving at least one substituent, such as halo, amino, cyano, hydroxy,alkoxy, alkylthio, —NH(alkyl), —NH (cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂, —C(═O)H,—CO₂ H, —CO₂-alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, aryl,heteroaryl, or heterocycle The term “substituted alkyl” also includes analkyl group as defined above substituted with N(substituted alkyl) orN(substituted alkyl)₂, or in other words, the groups (CH₂), NHR′ and(CH₂)n NR′R″, wherein each of R′ and R″ comprises a substituted alkyl orR′ and R″ together form a heterocyclo ring.

The term “alkoxy” refers to an alkyl group as defined above bondedthrough an oxygen (—O—). The term “alkylthio” refers to an alkyl groupas defined above bonded through a sulfur (—S—).

The term “cycloalkyl” refers to fully saturated and partiallyunsaturated hydrocarbon rings of at least 3, preferably 3 to 9, morepreferably 3 to 7, carbon atoms as well as such rings having a fusedaryl ring such as indan.

The term “substituted cycloalkyl” refers to such rings having one, twoor three substituents, preferably one, such as alkyl, substituted alkyl,alkoxy, alkylthio, halo, hydroxy, cyano, amino, —NH(alkyl),—NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂, —CO₂ H, —CO₂-lower alkyl, aryl,heterocyclo, heteroaryl, keto, ═N—OH, ═N—O—lower alkyl, and a five orsix membered ketal, i.e. 1,3-dioxolane or 1,3-dioxane.

The term “halo” refers to fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo.

The term “aryl” refers to phenyl, 1-naphthyl and 2-naphthyl, with phenylbeing preferred. The term “aryl” includes such rings having from zero,one, two or three substituents, such as alkyl, substituted alkyl,alkoxy, alkylthio, halo, hydroxy, nitro, cyano, amino, —NH(alkyl),—NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂, —CO₂ H, —(C═O)alkyl, —CO₂-alkyl,cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, —(C═O)NH₂, —(C═O)NH(alkyl),—(C═O)NH(cycloalkyl), —(C═O)N(alkyl)₂, —NH—CH₂—CO₂ H, —NH—CH₂—CO₂-alkyl,phenyl, benzyl, phenylethyl, phenyloxy, phenylthio, heterocyclo, andheteroaryl.

The term “heterocyclo” refers to substituted and unsubstitutednon-aromatic 3 to 7 membered monocyclic groups, 7 to 11 memberedbicyclic groups, and 10 to 15 membered tricyclic groups which have atleast one heteroatom (O, S or N) in at least one of the rings. Each ringof the heterocyclo group containing a heteroatom can contain one or twooxygen or sulfur atoms and/or from one to four nitrogen atoms providedthat the total number of heteroatoms in each ring is four or less, andfurther provided that the ring contains at least one carbon atom. Thefused rings completing the bicyclic and tricyclic groups may containonly carbon atoms and can be saturated, partially saturated, orunsaturated. The nitrogen and sulfur atoms can optionally be oxidizedand the nitrogen atoms can optionally be quaternized. The heterocyclicgroup can be attached at any available nitrogen or carbon atom. Theheterocyclic ring can contain one, two or three substituents, such ashalo, amino, cyano, alkyl, substituted alkyl, —NH(alkyl),—NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂, alkoxy, alkylthio, hydroxy, nitro, phenyl,benzyl, phenylethyl, phenyloxy, phenylthio, —CO₂ H, —CO₂-alkyl,cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, —(C═O)NH₂, —(C═O)NH(alkyl),—(C═O)NH(cycloalkyl), —(C═O)N(alkyl)₂, —NH—CH₂—CO₂ H, —NH—CH₂—CO₂-alkyl,heterocyclo, heteroaryl, keto, ═N—OH, ═N—O-lower alkyl, and a five orsix membered ketal, i.e., 1,3-dioxolane or 1,3-dioxane.

Exemplary monocyclic groups include azetidinyl, pyrrolidinyl, oxetanyl,imidazolinyl, oxazolidinyl, isoxazolinyl, thiazolidinyl,isothiazolidinyl, tetrahydrofuranyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl,2-oxopiperazinyl, 2-oxopiperidinyl, 2-oxopyrrolodinyl, 2-oxoazepinyl,azepinyl, 4-piperidonyl, tetrahydropyranyl, morpholinyl,thiamorpholinyl, thiamorpholinyl sulfoxide, thiamorpholinyl sulfone,1,3-dioxolane and tetrahydro-1,1-dioxothienyl and the like. Exemplarybicyclic heterocyclo groups include quinuclidinyl.

The term “heteroaryl” refers to substituted and unsubstituted aromatic 5or 6 membered monocyclic groups, 9 or 10 membered bicyclic groups, and1I1 to 14 membered tricyclic groups which have at least one heteroatom(O, S or N) in at least one of the rings. Each ring of the heteroarylgroup containing a heteroatom can contain one or two oxygen or sulfuratoms and/or from one to four nitrogen atoms provided that the totalnumber of heteroatoms in each ring is four or less and each ring has atleast one carbon atom. The fused rings completing the bicyclic andtricyclic groups can contain only carbon atoms and can be saturated,partially saturated, or unsaturated. The nitrogen and sulfur atoms canoptionally be oxidized and the nitrogen atoms can optionally bequaternized. Heteroaryl groups which are bicyclic or tricyclic mustinclude at least one fully aromatic ring but the other fused ring orrings can be aromatic or non-aromatic. The heteroaryl group can beattached at any available nitrogen or carbon atom of any ring. Theheteroaryl ring system can contain one, two or three substituents, suchas halo, amino, cyano, alkyl, substituted alkyl,—NH(alkyl),—NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂, alkoxy, alkylthio, hydroxy,nitro, phenyl, benzyl, phenylethyl, phenyloxy, phenylthio, —CO₂H,—CO₂-alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, —(C═O)NH₂, —(C═O)NH(alkyl), —(C═O)NH(cycloalkyl),—(C═O)N(alkyl)₂,—NH—CH₂—CO₂H,—NH—CH₂—CO₂-alkyl, heterocylco, and heteroaryl.

Exemplary monocyclic heteroaryl groups include pyrrolyl, pyrazolyl,pyrazolinyl, imidazolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl, thiazolyl, thiadiazolyl,isothiazolyl, furanyl, thienyl, oxadiazolyl, pyridyl, pyrazinyl,pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, triazinyl and the like.

Exemplary bicyclic heteroaryl groups include indolyl, benzothiazolyl,benzodioxolyl, benzoxaxolyl, benzothienyl, quinolinyl,tetrahydroisoquinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, benzimidazolyl, benzopyranyl,indolizinyl, benzofuranyl, chromonyl, coumarinyl, benzopyranyl,cinnolinyl, quinoxalinyl, indazolyl, pyrrolopyridyl, furopyridinyl,dihydroisoindolyl, tetrahydroquinolinyl and the like.

Exemplary tricyclic heteroaryl groups include carbazolyl, benzidolyl,phenanthrollinyl, acridinyl, phenanthridinyl, xanthenyl and the like.

The term “substituted imidazole” refers to an imidazole, an aryl-fusedimidazole such as benzimidazole, or a heteroaryl-fused imidazole such asa pyridoimidazole which contain one or two substituents, such ashydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkoxy, alkylthio, halo, hydroxy,nitro, cyano, amino, —NH(alkyl), —NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂, —CO₂H,—CO₂-alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, —(C═O)NH₂,—(C═O)NH(alkyl), —(C═O)NH(cycloalkyl), —(C═O)N(alkyl)₂, —NH—CH₂—CO₂ H,—NH—CH₂—CO₂-alkyl, phenyl, benzyl, phenylethyl, phenyloxy, phenylthio,heterocyclo, and heteroaryl.

The term “substituted triazole” refers to a triazole having at least onesubstituent, such as alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkoxy, alkylthio, halo,hydroxy, nitro, cyano, amino, —NH(alkyl),—NH(cycloalkyl), —N(alkyl)₂,—CO₂ H, —CO₂-alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, —(C═O)NH₂,—(C═O)NH(alkyl), —(C═O)NH(cycloalkyl), —(C═O)N(alkyl)₂, —NH—CH₂—CO₂ H,—NH—CH₂—CO₂-alkyl, phenyl, benzyl, phenylethyl, phenyloxy, phenylthio,heterocyclo, and heteroaryl.

The terms “(C1-C3) alkyl”, “(C1-C4) alkyl”, and “(C1-C10) alkyl”, whenused alone, refer to straight chain alkyl radicals.

The terms “branched (C3-C4) alkyl”, and “branched (C3-C6) alkyl” referto all alkyl isomers containing the designated number of carbon atoms,excluding the straight chain isomers.

The terms “(C1-C4) alkoxy” and “(C1-C7) alkoxy” refer to straight orbranched chain alkoxy groups.

The term “halo (C1-C7) alkyl” refers to a (C1-C7) alkyl group, straightchain or branched, substituted with one or more halo groups.

The term “substituted phenyl” used alone or in combination with otherterms, as in “substituted phenylthio” or “substituted phenylsulfonyl”,refers to phenyl substituted with up to three groups, such as halo, I,(C1-C10) alkyl, branched (C3-C6) alkyl, halo (C1-C7) alkyl, hydroxy(C1-C7) alkyl, (C1-C7) alkoxy, halo (C1-C7) alkoxy, phenoxy, phenyl,NO₂, OH, CN, (C1-C4) alkanoyloxy, or benzyloxy.

The term “substituted phenoxy” refers to phenoxy substituted with atleast one group, such as halo, I, (C1-C10) alkyl, branched (C3-C6)alkyl, halo (C1-C7) alkyl, hydroxy (C1-C7) alkyl, (C1-C7) alkoxy, halo(C1-C7) alkoxy, phenoxy, phenyl, NO₂, OH, CN, (C1-C4) alkanoyloxy, orbenzyloxy.

The terms “substituted naphthyl”, “substituted pyridyl” and “substitutedfuranyl” refer to these ring systems substituted with at least one groupsuch as, halo, halo (C1-C4) alkyl, CN, NO₂, (C1-C4) alkyl, (C3-C4)branched alkyl, phenyl, (C1-C4) alkoxy, or halo (C1-C4) alkoxy.

The term “unsaturated hydrocarbon chain” refers to a hydrocarbon chaincontaining one or two sites of unsaturation.

The preferred embodiments provide quinoline compounds of the followingformula (I) or salts thereof, for use as inhibitors of RhoGTPases,especially Rac1GTPase:

wherein: R₁ to R₅ are independently: H, halo, (C1-C4) alkyl, branched(C3-C4) alkyl, halo (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4) alkoxy, NO₂, NH₂, —X-Alk,—X-Alk-X, —X—Y—X, —NR₆ or O—R₆, wherein

X is O, NR₆, or CR₇R₈;

Alk is a C2-C18 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chain, straightchain or branched, optionally substituted with halo, halo (C1-C4)alkoxy, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, or acetyl;

Y is an alkylene chain 2 to 8 carbon atoms long, that optionallyincludes an O, S, SO, SO₂, or NR₆ group, and optionally includes asaturated or unsaturated carbocyclic ring comprising three to sevencarbon atoms, and optionally is substituted with (C1-C3) alkyl, (C2-C4)phenyl, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, halo, or (C1-C4) acyl; and

Ar is 1,3-benzodioxolyl fluorenyl, pyridyl substituted pyridyl, indolyl,furanyl, substituted furanyl, thienyl, optionally substituted with CH₂or Cl, thiazolyl, cyclopentyl, 1-methylcyclopentyl, cyclohexenyl(tetrahydrophenyl), cyclohexyl (hexahydrophenyl), naphthyl, substitutednaphthyl, dihydronaphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, or decahydronaphthyl;

R₆ is H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or acetyl;

R₇ and R₈ are independently H, (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4) acyl, halo, —OH,O—Y—Ar, or —NR₉—Y—Ar; and

R₉ is H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or acetyl.

or a salt of a compound of formula (I), provided, however, that thisspecifically excludes compounds that are known per se or that could beconsidered similar to known compounds.

Preferably at least two of R₁ to R₅ being H or CH₃, and at least one ofR₁ to R₂ is —X-Alk, —X-Alk-X or —X—Y—X, —NR₆ or O—R₆ and the rest of R₁to R₅ are H or CH₃; wherein:

X is O, NR₆, or CR₇R₈;

Alk is a C2-C18 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chain, straightchain or branched, optionally substituted with halo, halo (C1-C4)alkoxy, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, or acetyl;

Y is an alkylene chain 2 to 8 carbon atoms long, that optionallyincludes an O, S, SO, SO₂, or NR₆ group, and optionally includes asaturated or unsaturated carbocyclic ring comprising three to sevencarbon atoms, and optionally is substituted with (C1-C3) alkyl, (C2-C4)phenyl, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, halo, or (C1-C4) acyl; and

Ar is 1,3-benzodioxolyl fluorenyl, pyridyl substituted pyridyl, indolyl,furanyl, substituted furanyl, thienyl, optionally substituted with CH₂or Cl, thiazolyl, cyclopentyl, 1-methylcyclopentyl, cyclohexenyl(tetrahydrophenyl), cyclohexyl (hexahydrophenyl), naphthyl, substitutednaphthyl, dihydronaphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, or decahydronaphthyl;

R₆ is H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or acetyl;

R₇ and R₈ are independently H, (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4) acyl, halo, —OH,O—Y—Ar, or —NR₉—Y—Ar; and

R₉ is H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or acetyl.

Preferably, the preferred embodiments provide compounds of the formula(II) or salts thereof, for use as inhibitors of RhoGTPases:

wherein:

R₁ to R₂ are independently: H, halo, (C1-C4) alkyl, branched (C3-C4)alkyl, halo (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4) alkoxy, NO₂, NH₂, —X-Alk, —X-Alk-X,—X—Y—X, —NR₆ or O—R₆, wherein

X is O, NR₆, or CR₇R₈;

Alk is a C2-C18 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chain, straightchain or branched, optionally substituted with halo, halo (C1-C4)alkoxy, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, or acetyl;

Y is an alkylene chain 2 to 8 carbon atoms long, that optionallyincludes an O, S, SO, SO₂, or NR₆ group, and optionally includes asaturated or unsaturated carbocyclic ring comprising three to sevencarbon atoms, and optionally is substituted with (C1-C3) alkyl, (C2-C4)phenyl, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, halo, or (C1-C4) acyl; and

Ar is 1,3-benzodioxolyl fluorenyl, pyridyl substituted pyridyl, indolyl,furanyl, substituted furanyl, thienyl, optionally substituted with CH₂or Cl, thiazolyl, cyclopentyl, 1-methylcyclopentyl, cyclohexenyl(tetrahydrophenyl), cyclohexyl (hexahydrophenyl), naphthyl, substitutednaphthyl, dihydronaphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, or decahydronaphthyl;

R₆ is H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or acetyl;

R₇ and R₈ are independently H, (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4) acyl, halo, —OH,O—Y—Ar, or —NR₉—Y—Ar; and

R₉ is H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or acetyl.

or a salt of a compound of formula (II).

Preferably, the preferred embodiments provide compounds of the formula(IIa) or salts thereof, for use as inhibitors of RhoGTPases:

wherein:

R₁ to R₂ are independently: H, —X-Alk, —X-Alk-X′, or —X—Y—X′, wherein

X is —CR₇R₈;

X′ is —CHR₇R₈;

Alk is a C2-C18 saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chain, straightchain or branched, optionally substituted with halo, halo (C1-C4)alkoxy, (C3-C8) cycloalkyl, hydroxy, or acetyl;

Y is an alkylene chain 2 to 8 carbon atoms long, that optionallyincludes an NR₆ group;

R₆ is H or (C1-C4) alkyl; and

R₇ and R₈ are independently H or (C1-C4) alkyl;

or a salt of a compound of formula (IIa).

The preferred embodiments provide compounds of the formula (III) orsalts thereof, for use as inhibitors of Rho GTPases:

wherein:

R₁₀ to R₁₂ are independently: H, halo, (C1-C4) alkyl, branched (C3-C4)alkyl, halo (C1-C4) alkyl, (C1-C4) alkoxy, NO₂, or NH₂;

or a salt of a compound of formula (III).

The preferred embodiments provide compounds of the formula (IIIa) orsalts thereof, for use as inhibitors of Rho GTPases:

wherein:

R₁₀ to R₁₂ are independently: H, (C1-C4) alkyl, or branched (C3-C4)alkyl;

or a salt of a compound of formula (IIIa).

The preferred embodiments provide compounds of the formula (IV) or saltsthereof, for use as inhibitors of Rho GTPases:

or a salt of a compound of formula (IV).

The pharmaceutical compositions of the preferred embodiments comprise adisease inhibiting and pharmaceutically acceptable amount of a compoundof formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa or IV, orN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamine,in combination with a pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.

The pharmaceutical compositions of the preferred embodiments comprise atleast 1% by weight of a compound of formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa or IV,orN-6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamine(e.g., formula IV, chemical compound 23766).

The pharmaceutical compositions of the preferred embodiments comprise acompound of formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa or IV, orN⁶-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamine(e.g., formula IV, chemical compound 23766) further comprising apharmaceutically active compound. For example, the additionalpharmaceutically active compound can be a compound that is useful forinhibiting cell proliferation. For example, the additionalpharmaceutically active compound can be a compound selected from thegroup consisting of farnesyl protein transferase inhibitors,prenyl-protein transferase inhibitors, geranylgeranyl-proteintransferase inhibitors, toxins and combinations thereof.

The pharmaceutical combinations of the preferred embodiments comprise atleast 1% by weight of a compound of formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa or IV,orN⁶-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamine(e.g., formula IV, chemical compound 23766), in combination with asecond pharmaceutical compound.

In another embodiment, the pharmaceutical combinations of the preferredembodiments comprise at least 1% by weight of a Rho familyGTPase-regulating active compound further comprising additional cancertreatment pharmaceutical agent and, preferably, in combination with apharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.

The pharmaceutical compositions of the preferred embodiments comprise acancer prevention amount of a Rho family GTPase-regulating activecompound in combination with a pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.

The pharmaceutical methods of the preferred embodiments compriseadministeringN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamineto a subject in need of such treatment with a therapeutic amount of acompound of formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa or IV, or of a combinationdescribed above.

Methods and compositions are described that affect the GTPase activityof members of the Ras superfamily, preferably Rac, such compositionsinclude compounds that modulate the GTPase activity, along with uses forthe compounds including screening for compounds which recognize RacGTPase, and methods of treating pathological conditions associated orrelated to a Ras superfamily GTPase, including Rac. Another embodimentcomprises binding to a Rho GTPase selected from the group consisting ofRac1, Rac2 and Rac3. Preferably, another embodiment comprises binding toa Rho GTPase that is Rac1. The preferred embodiments also relate tomethods of using such compounds, or derivatives thereof, e.g., intherapeutics, diagnostics, and as research tools.

Methods and compositions are described that affect the GTPase activityof members of the Ras superfamily, preferably Rac; such compositionsinclude compounds that modulate the GTPase activity. Preferably, theindication associated with GTPase activity is selected from the groupconsisting of hypertension, atherosclerosis, restenosis, cerebralischemia, cerebral vasospasm, neuronal degeneration, spinal cord injury,cancer of the breast, colon, prostate, ovaries, brain or lung,thrombotic disorders, asthma, glaucoma, osteoporosis and erectiledysfunction.

The preferred embodiments also relate to methods of testing for and/oridentifying agents that regulate Rac by measuring their effect on theability of a Rho family GTPase-regulating active compound to regulatethe action of Rac GTPase.

As used herein, the terms “Ras or Ras superfamily proteins” encompass alarge family of GTP binding/GTP hydrolyzing monomeric proteins. Rasfamily includes the Ras, Rho, Rab, Arf, and Ran subfamilies of GTPases.

The terms “Rho GTPases” or “Rho family GTPases” refer to a subfamily ofRas superfamily and are small, membrane-bound, Ras-related GTP-bindingproteins that function by binding and hydrolyzing GTP. Rho GTPasesfunction as molecular switches, cycling between an inactive GDP-boundconformation and an active GTP-bound conformation and include RhoA,RhoB, RhoC, Cdc42, Rac1, Rac2, Rac3, TC10, RhoG, RhoD, Chp, WRCH1, TCL,and RIF.

A protein or polypeptide sequence of a Ras-related protein includesvariants or fragments thereof derived from any species, particularlymammalian, including bovine, ovine, porcine, murine, equine, andpreferably human, from any source whether natural, synthetic,semi-synthetic, or recombinant.

The terms “Rac GTPase” or “Rac protein or polypeptide” refer to Rac1,Rac2, and/or Rac3.

One embodiment provides for a method for reducing cancer cellproliferation by administering in a subject having cancer an effectiveamount of a Rho family GTPase-regulating active compound as definedherein.

Another embodiment provides for the use of an effective amount of a Rhofamily GTPase-regulating active compound as defined herein for thepreparation of pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of a diseaseassociated with abnormal cell proliferation.

Because of their cell proliferation inhibitory activity, the compoundsof the preferred embodiments are suitable for treating a variety ofdiseases in a variety of conditions. In this regard, “treatment” or“treating” includes both therapeutic and prophylactic treatments.Accordingly, the compounds can be used at very early stages of adisease, or before early onset, or after significant progression,including metastasis. The term “treatment” or “treating” designates inparticular a reduction of the burden in a patient, such as a reductionin cell proliferation rate, a destruction of diseased proliferativecells, a reduction of tumor mass or tumor size, a delaying of tumorprogression, as well as a complete tumor suppression.

Typical examples of diseases associated with abnormal cell proliferationinclude cancers and restenosis, for instance. The compounds of thepreferred embodiments are particularly suited for the treatment ofcancers, such as solid tumors or lymphoid tumors. Specific examplesinclude leukemia, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreas cancer, lungcancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, head and neck cancer, colon cancer,bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer and melanoma.

The active compounds of the preferred embodiments can be administeredaccording to various routes, typically by injection, such as local orsystemic injection(s). Intratumoral injections are preferred fortreating existing cancers. However, other administration routes can beused as well, such as intramuscular, intravenous, intradermic,subcutaneous, etc. Furthermore, repeated injections can be performed, ifneeded, although it is believed that limited injections will be neededin view of the efficacy of the compounds.

It is contemplated that such target cells can be located within ananimal or human patient, in which case a safe and effective amount ofthe complex, in pharmacologically acceptable form, would be administeredto the patient. Generally speaking, it is contemplated that usefulpharmaceutical compositions of the preferred embodiments will includethe selected active compound derivative in a convenient amount, e.g.,from about 0.001% to about 10% (w/w) that is diluted in apharmacologically or physiologically acceptable carrier, such as, forexample, phosphate buffered saline. The route of administration andultimate amount of material that is administered to the patient oranimal under such circumstances will depend upon the intendedapplication and will be apparent to those of skill in the art in lightof the examples which follow.

Any composition chosen should be of low or non-toxicity to the cell.Toxicity for any given compound can vary with the concentration ofcompound used. It is also beneficial if the compound chosen ismetabolized or eliminated by the body and if this metabolism orelimination is done in a manner that will not be harmfully toxic.

The examples are illustrative of the types of compounds to be used inthe method claimed herein; the list is not exhaustive. Derivatives ofthe above compounds that fit the criteria of the claims are preferablyalso be considered when choosing an active compound.

The compound are preferably administered such that a therapeuticallyeffective concentration of the compound is in contact with the affectedcells of the body. The dose administered to an animal, particularly ahuman, in the context of the preferred embodiments is preferablysufficient to effect a therapeutic response in the animal over areasonable period of time. The dose will be determined by the strengthof the particular compound employed and the condition of the animal, aswell as the body weight of the animal to be treated. The existence,nature, and extent of any adverse side effects that might accompany theadministration of a particular compound also will determine the size ofthe dose and the particular route of administration employed with aparticular patient. In general, the compounds of the preferredembodiments are therapeutically effective at low doses. The generallyuseful dose range is from about 0.001 mM, or less, to about 100 mM, ormore. Preferably, the effective dose range is from about 0.01, 0.05,0.1, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, or 0.9 mM, to about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,or 10 mM. Accordingly, the compounds will be generally administered inlow doses.

The compound can be administered in a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are well-known to thosewho are skilled in the art. The choice of carrier will be determined inpart by the particular compound, as well as by the particular methodused to administer the composition. Accordingly, there is a wide varietyof suitable formulations of the pharmaceutical composition of thepreferred embodiments.

The compounds can be administered orally, topically, parenterally, byinhalation or spray, vaginally, rectally or sublingually in dosage unitformulations. The term “administration by injection” includes but is notlimited to: intravenous, intraarticular, intramuscular, subcutaneous andparenteral injections, as well as use of infusion techniques. Dermaladministration can include topical application or transdermaladministration. One or more compounds can be present in association withone or more non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and ifdesired other active ingredients.

Compositions intended for oral use can be prepared according to anysuitable method known to the art for the manufacture of pharmaceuticalcompositions. Such compositions can contain one or more agents selectedfrom the group consisting of diluents, sweetening agents, flavoringagents, coloring agents and preserving agents in order to providepalatable preparations. Tablets contain the active ingredient inadmixture with non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable excipients that aresuitable for the manufacture of tablets. These excipients can be, forexample, inert diluents, such as calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate,lactose, calcium phosphate or sodium phosphate; granulating anddisintegrating agents, for example, corn starch, or alginic acid; andbinding agents, for example magnesium stearate, stearic acid or talc.The tablets can be uncoated or they can be coated by known techniques todelay disintegration and adsorption in the gastrointestinal tract andthereby provide a sustained action over a longer period. For example, atime delay material such as glyceryl monostearate or glyceryl distearatecan be employed. These compounds can also be prepared in solid, rapidlyreleased form.

Formulations for oral use can also be presented as hard gelatin capsuleswherein the active ingredient is mixed with an inert solid diluent, forexample, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate or kaolin, or as softgelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with water or anoil medium, for example peanut oil, liquid paraffin or olive oil.

Aqueous suspensions containing the active materials in admixture withexcipients suitable for the manufacture of aqueous suspensions can alsobe used. Such excipients are suspending agents, for example sodiumcarboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose,sodium alginate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, gum tragacanth and gum acacia;dispersing or wetting agents can be a naturally-occurring phosphatide,for example, lecithin, or condensation products of an alkylene oxidewith fatty acids, for example polyoxyethylene stearate, or condensationproducts of ethylene oxide with long chain aliphatic alcohols, forexample heptadecaethylene oxycetanol, or condensation products ofethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitolsuch as polyoxyethylene sorbitol monooleate, or condensation products ofethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitolanhydrides, for example polyethylene sorbitan monooleate. The aqueoussuspensions can also contain one or more preservatives, for exampleethyl, or n-propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, one or more coloring agents, oneor more flavoring agents, and one or more sweetening agents,; such assucrose or saccharin.

Dispersible powders and granules suitable for preparation of an aqueoussuspension by the addition of water provide the active ingredient inadmixture with a dispersing or wetting agent, suspending agent and oneor more preservatives. Suitable dispersing or wetting agents andsuspending agents are exemplified by those already mentioned above.Additional excipients, for example, sweetening, flavoring and coloringagents, can also be present.

The compounds can also be in the form of non-aqueous liquidformulations, e.g., oily suspensions which can be formulated bysuspending the active ingredients in a vegetable oil, for examplearachis oil, olive oil, sesame oil or peanut oil, or in a mineral oilsuch as liquid paraffin. The oily suspensions can contain a thickeningagent, for example beeswax, hard paraffin or cetyl alcohol. Sweeteningagents such as those set forth above, and flavoring agents can be addedto provide palatable oral preparations. These compositions can bepreserved by the addition of an anti-oxidant such as ascorbic acid.

Compounds of the preferred embodiments can also be administratedtransdermally using methods known to those skilled in the art. Forexample, a solution or suspension of an active agent in a suitablevolatile solvent optionally containing penetration enhancing agents canbe combined with additional additives known to those skilled in the art,such as matrix materials and bacteriocides. After sterilization, theresulting mixture can be formulated following known procedures intodosage forms. In addition, on treatment with emulsifying agents andwater, a solution or suspension of an active agent can be formulatedinto a lotion or salve.

Suitable solvents for processing transdermal delivery systems are knownto those skilled in the art, and include lower alcohols such as ethanolor isopropyl alcohol, lower ketones such as acetone, lower carboxylicacid esters such as ethyl acetate, polar ethers such as tetrahydrofuran,lower hydrocarbons such as hexane, cyclohexane or benzene, orhalogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane, chloroform,trichlorotrifluoroethane, or trichlorofluoroethane. Suitable solventscan also include mixtures of one or more materials selected from loweralcohols, lower ketones, lower carboxylic acid esters, polar ethers,lower hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons.

Suitable penetration enhancing materials for transdermal delivery systemare known to those skilled in the art, and include, for example,monohydroxy or polyhydroxy alcohols such as ethanol, propylene glycol orbenzyl alcohol, saturated or unsaturated C8-C18 fatty alcohols such aslauryl alcohol or cetyl alcohol, saturated or unsaturated C8-C18 fattyacids such as stearic acid, saturated or unsaturated fatty esters withup to 24 carbons such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl,sec-butyl, isobutyl, tertbutyl or monoglycerin esters of acetic acid,capronic acid, lauric acid, myristinic acid, stearic acid, or palmiticacid, or diesters of saturated or unsaturated dicarboxylic acids with atotal of up to about 24 carbons such as diisopropyl adipate, diisobutyladipate, diisopropyl sebacate, diisopropyl maleate, or diisopropylfumarate. Additional penetration enhancing materials includephosphatidyl derivatives such as lecithin or cephalin, terpenes, amides,ketones, ureas and their derivatives, and ethers such as dimethylisosorbid and diethyleneglycol monoethyl ether. Suitable penetrationenhancing formulations can also include mixtures of one or morematerials selected from monohydroxy or polyhydroxy alcohols, saturatedor unsaturated C8-C18 fatty alcohols, saturated or unsaturated C8-C18fatty acids, saturated or unsaturated fatty esters with up to 24carbons, diesters of saturated or unsaturated discarboxylic acids with atotal of up to 24 carbons, phosphatidyl derivatives, terpenes, amides,ketones, ureas and their derivatives, and ethers.

Suitable binding materials for transdermal delivery systems are known tothose skilled in the art and include polyacrylates, silicones,polyurethanes, block polymers, styrenebutadiene copolymers, and naturaland synthetic rubbers. Cellulose ethers, derivatized polyethylenes, andsilicates can also be used as matrix components. Additional additives,such as viscous resins or oils can be added to increase the viscosity ofthe matrix.

Pharmaceutical compositions of the preferred embodiments can also be inthe form of oil-in-water emulsions. The oil phase can be a vegetableoil, for example olive oil or arachis oil, or a mineral oil, forexample, liquid paraffin or mixtures of these. Suitable emulsifyingagents can be naturally-occurring gums, for example, gum acacia or gumtragacanth, naturally-occurring phosphatides, for example, soy bean,lecithin, and esters or partial esters derived from fatty acids andhexitol anhydrides, for example, sorbitan monooleate, and condensationproducts of the said partial esters with ethylene oxide, for example,polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate. The emulsions can also containsweetening and flavoring agents. Syrups and elixirs can be formulatedwith sweetening agents, for example glycerol, propylene glycol, sorbitolor sucrose. Such formulations can also contain a demulcent, apreservative and flavoring and coloring agents.

The compounds can also be administered in the form of suppositories forrectal or vaginal administration of the drug. These compositions can beprepared by mixing the drug with a suitable nonirritating excipientwhich is solid at ordinary temperatures but liquid at the rectaltemperature or vaginal temperature and will therefore melt in the rectumor vagina to release the drug. Such materials include cocoa butter andpolyethylene glycols.

For all regimens of use disclosed herein for active agent, the dailyoral dosage regimen will preferably be from about 0.01 to about 200mg/Kg of total body weight. Preferably, the daily oral dosage regimenwill preferably be from about 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 toabout 10, 50, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, or 200mg/Kg of total body weight. The daily dosage for administration byinjection, including intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous andparenteral injections, and use of infusion techniques will preferably befrom 0.01 to 200 mg/Kg of total body weight. Preferably, the dailydosage for administration by injection, including intravenous,intramuscular, subcutaneous and parenteral injections, and use ofinfusion techniques will preferably be from about 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5,1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to about 10, 50, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160,170, 180, 190, or 200 mg/Kg of total body weight. The daily vaginaldosage regime will preferably be from 0.01 to 200 mg/Kg of total bodyweight. The daily topical dosage regimen will preferably be from 0.01 to200 mg administered between one to four times daily. The concentrationfor vaginal dosage and topical dosage will preferably be that requiredto maintain a daily dose is of from 0.1 to 200 mg/Kg. Preferably, thedaily oral dosage regimen will preferably be from about 0.01, 0.05, 0.1,0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to about 10, 50, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150,160, 170, 180, 190, or 200 mg/Kg of total body weight. The dailyinhalation dosage regimen will preferably be from 0.01 to 10 mg/Kg oftotal body weight. Preferably, the daily inhalation dosage regimen willpreferably be from about 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, to about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,or 10, mg/Kg of total body weight.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the particularmethod of administration will depend on a variety of factors, all ofwhich are considered routinely when administering therapeutics. It willalso be understood, however, that the specific dose level for any givenpatient will depend upon a variety of factors, including, the activityof the specific compound employed, the age of the patient, the bodyweight of the patient, the general health of the patient, the gender ofthe patient, the diet of the patient, time of administration, route ofadministration, rate of excretion, drug combinations, and the severityof the condition undergoing therapy. It will be further appreciated byone skilled in the art that the optimal course of treatment, i.e., themode of treatment and the daily number of doses of an active agent or apharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof given for a defined number ofdays, can be ascertained by those skilled in the art using conventionaltreatment tests.

Another aspect of the preferred embodiments relates to the regulation ofbiological pathways in which a GTPase is involved, particularlypathological conditions, e.g., cell proliferation (e.g., cancer), growthcontrol, morphogenesis, stress fiber formation, and integrin-mediatedinteractions, such as embryonic development, tumor cell growth andmetastasis, programmed cell death, hemostasis, leucocyte homing andactivation, bone resorption, clot retraction, and the response of cellsto mechanical stress. Thus, the preferred embodiments relate to allaspects of a method of modulating an activity of a Rac polypeptidecomprising, administering an effective amount of an active agent, aneffective amount of a compound which modulates the activity of a Racpolypeptide, or combination thereof. The activity of Rac which ismodulated can include: GTP binding, GDP binding, GTPase activity,integrin binding, coupling or binding of Rac to receptor oreffector-like molecules (such as integrins, growth factor receptors,tyrosine kinases, PI-3K, PIP-5K, etc.). Increasing, reducing,antagonizing, or promoting Rac can modulate the activity. The modulationof Rac can be measured by assay for GTP hydrolysis, binding to Rac-GEF,etc. An effective amount is any amount which, when administered,modulates the Rac activity. The activity can be modulated in a cell, atissue, a whole organism, in situ, in vitro (test tube, a solid support,etc.), in vivo, or in any desired environment.

The modulation of oncogenic transforming activity by an active agent, orderivatives thereof, can be measured according to various knownprocedures. A compound can be added at any time during the method (e.g.,pretreatment of cells; after addition of GEF, etc.) to determine itseffect on the oncogenic transforming activity of an active agent.Various cell lines can also be used.

Other assays for Rac-mediated signal transduction can be accomplishedaccording to procedures known in the art, e.g., as described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,141,851; 5,420,334; 5,436,128; and 5,482,954, all of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In addition,peptides that inhibit the interaction, e.g., binding, between an activeagent and a G-protein, such as Rac, can be identified.

The preferred embodiments also relate to a method of testing for andidentifying an agent which modulates the activity of RacGTPase, or abiologically-active fragment thereof, or which modulates the bindingbetween an active agent, or a biologically-active fragment thereof, anda GTPase, or a biologically-active fragment thereof, to which it binds.The method comprises contacting the active agent and Rac GTPase with anagent to be tested and then detecting the presence or amount of bindingbetween the active agent and GTPase, or an activity of the active agent.

By modulating, it is meant that addition of the agent affects theactivity or binding. The binding or activity modulation can be affectedin various ways, including inhibiting, blocking, preventing, increasing,enhancing, or promoting it. The binding or activity effect does not haveto be achieved in a specific way, e.g., it can be competitive,noncompetitive, allosteric, sterically hindered, via cross-linkingbetween the agent and the GEF or GTPase, etc. The agent can act oneither the active agent or GTPase. The agent can be an agonist, anantagonist, or a partial agonist or antagonist. The presence or amountof binding can be determined in various ways, e.g., directly orindirectly by assaying for an activity promoted or inhibited by theactive agent, such as guanine nucleotide exchange, GTP hydrolysis,oncogenic transformation, etc. Such assays are described above andbelow, and are also known in the art. The agent can be obtained and/orprepared from a variety of sources, including natural and synthetic. Itcan comprise, e.g., amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, organicmolecules, nucleic acids, inorganic molecules, or mixtures thereof.

The agent can be added simultaneously or sequentially. For example, theagent can be added to the active agent and then the resultant mixturecan be further combined with the GTPase. The method can be carried outin liquid on isolated components, on a matrix (e.g., filter paper,nitrocellulose, agarose), in cells, on tissue sections, etc.

The method further relates to obtaining or producing agents that havebeen identified according to the above-described method. The preferredembodiments also relate to products identified in accordance with suchmethods.

The preferred embodiments thus also relate to the treatment andprevention of diseases and pathological conditions associated withRac-mediated signal transduction, e.g., cancer, diseases associated withabnormal cell proliferation, and the like. For example, the preferredembodiments relate to a method of treating cancer comprisingadministering, to a subject in need of treatment, an amount of acompound effective to treat the disease, where the compound is an activeagent. Treating the disease can mean, delaying its onset, delaying theprogression of the disease, improving or delaying clinical andpathological signs of disease. Similarly, the method also relates totreating diseases associated with inflammation, and/or the chemotacticability of neutrophils. A regulator compound, or mixture of compounds,can be synthetic, naturally-occurring, or a combination. A regulatorcompound can comprise amino acids, nucleotides, hydrocarbons, lipids,polysaccharides, etc. A regulator compound is preferably a regulator ofRac GTPase. To treat the disease, the compound, or mixture, can beformulated into pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier and other excipients as apparent to the skilledworker. Such composition can additionally contain effective amounts ofother compounds, especially for treatment of cancer.

Based on these data, one embodiment is an improved method for treatmentof tumors comprising administration of a pharmaceutically effectivequantity of active agent or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts oresters, active agent analogs or their pharmaceutically acceptable saltsor esters, or a combination thereof.

The compositions and preparations described preferably contain at least0.1% of active agent. The percentage of the compositions andpreparations can, of course, be varied, and can contain between about 2%and 60% of the weight of the amount administered. Preferably, thepercentage of the compositions and preparations can contain betweenabout 2, 5, 10, or 15% and 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, or 60% of the weightof the amount administered. The amount of active compounds in suchpharmaceutically useful compositions and preparations is such that asuitable dosage will be obtained.

The active agent form salts, which are also within the scope of thepreferred embodiments. Reference to a compound of the active agentherein is understood to include reference to salts thereof, unlessotherwise indicated. The term “salt(s)”, as employed herein, denotesacidic and/or basic salts formed with inorganic and/or organic acids andbases. In addition, when an active agent contains both a basic moiety,such as, but not limited to an amine or a pyridine or imidazole ring,and an acidic moiety, such as, but not limited to a carboxylic acid,zwitterions (“inner salts”) can be formed and are included within theterm “salt(s)” as used herein. Pharmaceutically acceptable (i.e.,non-toxic, physiologically acceptable) salts are preferred, althoughother salts are also useful, e.g., in isolation or purification steps,which can be employed during preparation. Salts of the compounds of theactive agent can be formed, for example, by reacting a compound of theactive agent with an amount of acid or base, such as an equivalentamount, in a medium such as one in which the salt precipitates or in anaqueous medium followed by lyophilization.

The active agent which contain a basic moiety, such as, but not limitedto an amine or a pyridine or imidazole ring, can form salts with avariety of organic and inorganic acids. Exemplary acid addition saltsinclude acetates (such as those formed with acetic acid or trihaloaceticacid, for example, trifluoroacetic acid), adipates, alginates,ascorbates, aspartates, benzoates, benzenesulfonates, bisulfates,borates, butyrates, citrates, camphorates, camphorsulfonates,cyclopentanepropionates, digluconates, dodecylsulfates,ethanesulfonates, fumarates, glucoheptanoates, glycerophosphates,hemisulfates, heptanoates, hexanoates, hydrochlorides (formed withhydrochloric acid), hydrobromides (formed with hydrogen bromide),hydroiodides, 2-hydroxyethanesulfonates, lactates, maleates (formed withmaleic acid), methanesulfonates (formed with methanesulfonic acid),2-naphthalenesulfonates, nicotinates, nitrates, oxalates, pectinates,persulfates, 3-phenylpropionates, phosphates, picrates, pivalates,propionates, salicylates, succinates, sulfates (such as those formedwith sulfuric acid), sulfonates (such as those mentioned herein),tartrates, thiocyanates, toluenesulfonates such as tosylates,undecanoates, and the like.

The active agents which contain an acidic moiety, such as, but notlimited to a carboxylic acid, can form salts with a variety of organicand inorganic bases. Exemplary basic salts include ammonium salts,alkali metal salts such as sodium, lithium, and potassium salts,alkaline earth metal salts such as calcium and magnesium salts, saltswith organic bases (for example, organic amines) such as benzathines,dicyclohexylamines, hydrabamines [formed withN,N-bis(dehydro-abietyl)ethylenediamine], N-methyl-D-glucamines,N-methyl-D-glucamides, t-butyl amines, and salts with amino acids suchas arginine, lysine and the like. Basic nitrogen-containing groups canbe quaternized with agents such as lower alkyl halides (e.g., methyl,ethyl, propyl, and butyl chlorides, bromides and iodides), dialkylsulfates (e.g., dimethyl, diethyl, dibutyl, and diamyl sulfates), longchain halides (e.g., decyl, lauryl, myristyl and stearyl chlorides,bromides and iodides), aralkyl halides (e.g., benzyl and phenethylbromides), and others.

Prodrugs and solvates of the compounds of the preferred embodiments arealso contemplated herein. The term “prodrug”, as employed herein,denotes a compound which, upon administration to a subject, undergoeschemical conversion by metabolic or chemical processes to yield acompound of the active agent, and/or a salt and/or solvate thereof.Solvates of the active agent are preferably hydrates.

Active agent, and salts thereof, can exist in their tautomeric form (forexample, as an amide or imino ether). All such tautomeric forms arecontemplated herein as part of the preferred embodiments.

All stereoisomers of the present compounds, such as those, for example,which can exist due to asymmetric carbons on any of the substituents,including enantiomeric forms (which can exist even in the absence ofasymmetric carbons) and diastereomeric forms, are contemplated andwithin the scope of the preferred embodiments. Individual stereoisomersof the compounds of the preferred embodiments can, for example, besubstantially free of other isomers, or can be admixed, for example, asracemates or with all other or other selected, stereoisomers. The chiralcenters of the preferred embodiments can have the S or R configurationas defined by the IUPAC 1974 Recommendations.

When the compounds according to the preferred embodiments are in theforms of salts, they are preferably pharmaceutically acceptable salts.Such salts include pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts,pharmaceutically acceptable base addition salts, pharmaceuticallyacceptable metal salts, ammonium and alkylated ammonium salts. Acidaddition salts include salts of inorganic acids as well as organicacids. Representative examples of suitable inorganic acids includehydrochloric, hydrobromic, hydroiodic, phosphoric, sulfuric, nitricacids and the like. Representative examples of suitable organic acidsinclude formic, acetic, trichloroacetic, trifluoroacetic, propionic,benzoic, cinnamic, citric, fumaric, glycolic, lactic, maleic, malic,malonic, mandelic, oxalic, picric, pyruvic, salicylic, succinic,methanesulfonic, ethanesulfonic, tartaric, ascorbic, pamoic,bismethylene salicylic, ethanedisulfonic, gluconic, citraconic,aspartic, stearic, palmitic, EDTA, glycolic, p-aminobenzoic, glutamic,benzenesulfonic, p-toluenesulfonic acids, sulphates, nitrates,phosphates, perchlorates, borates, acetates, benzoates,hydroxynaphthoates, glycerophosphates, ketoglutarates and the like.Examples of metal salts include lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesiumsalts and the like. Examples of ammonium and alkylated ammonium saltsinclude ammonium, methylammonium, dimethylammonium, trimethylammonium,ethylammonium, hydroxyethylammonium, diethylammonium, butylammonium,tetramethylammonium salts and the like. Examples of organic basesinclude lysine, arginine, guanidine, diethanolamine, choline and thelike.

The pharmaceutically acceptable salts are prepared by reacting theactive agent with 1 to 4 equivalents of a base such as sodium hydroxide,sodium methoxide, sodium hydride, potassium t-butoxide, calciumhydroxide, magnesium hydroxide and the like, in solvents like ether,THF, methanol, t-butanol, dioxane, isopropanol, ethanol, etc. Mixture ofsolvents can be used. Organic bases like lysine, arginine,diethanolamine, choline, guandine and their derivatives etc. can also beused. Alternatively, acid addition salts wherever applicable areprepared by treatment with acids such as hydrochloric acid, hydrobromicacid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, p-toluenesulphonicacid, methanesulfonic acid, fonic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, maleicacid salicylic acid, hydroxynaphthoic acid, ascorbic acid, palmiticacid, succinic acid, benzoic acid, benzenesulfonic acid, tartaric acidand the like in solvents like ethyl acetate, ether, alcohols, acetone,THF, dioxane, etc. Mixture of solvents can also be used.

As indicated above, a further object of the preferred embodimentsrelates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one compoundof formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa, or IV, as defined above, and apharmaceutically acceptable vehicle or support.

The compounds can be formulated in various forms, including solid andliquid forms, such as tablets, gel, syrup, powder, aerosol, etc.

The compositions of the preferred embodiments can containphysiologically acceptable diluents, fillers, lubricants, excipients,solvents, binders, stabilizers, and the like. Diluents that can be usedin the compositions include but are not limited to dicalcium phosphate,calcium sulphate, lactose, cellulose, kaolin, mannitol, sodium chloride,dry starch, powdered sugar and for prolonged release tablet-hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC). The binders that can be used in thecompositions include but are not limited to starch, gelatin and fillerssuch as sucrose, glucose, dextrose and lactose.

Natural and synthetic gums that can be used in the compositions includebut are not limited to sodium alginate, ghatti gum, carboxymethylcellulose, methyl cellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and veegum.Excipients that can be used in the compositions include but are notlimited to microcrystalline cellulose, calcium sulfate, dicalciumphosphate, starch, magnesium stearate, lactose, and sucrose. Stabilizersthat can be used include but are not limited to polysaccharides such asacacia, agar, alginic acid, guar gum and tragacanth, amphotsics such asgelatin and synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers such as carbomerresins, cellulose ethers and carboxymethyl chitin.

Solvents that can be used include but are not limited to Ringerssolution, water, distilled water, dimethyl sulfoxide to 50% in water,propylene glycol (neat or in water), phosphate buffered saline, balancedsalt solution, glycol and other conventional fluids.

The dosages and dosage regimen in which the compounds of formula I, II,IIa, III, IIIa, or IV are administered will vary according to the dosageform, mode of administration, the condition being treated andparticulars of the patient being treated. Accordingly, optimaltherapeutic concentrations will be best determined at the time and placethrough routine experimentation.

The compounds according to the preferred embodiments can also be usedenterally. Orally, the compounds according to the preferred embodimentsare suitable administered at the rate of 100 μg to 100 mg per day per kgof body weight. Preferably, orally, the compounds according to thepreferred embodiments are suitable administered at the rate of about100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, or 500 pg to about 1, 5, 10, 25,50, 75, 100 mg per day per kg of body weight. The required dose can beadministered in one or more portions. For oral administration, suitableforms are, for example, tablets, gel, aerosols, pills, dragees, syrups,suspensions, emulsions, solutions, powders and granules; a preferredmethod of administration consists in using a suitable form containingfrom 1 mg to about 500 mg of active substance. Preferably, a method ofadministration consists in using a suitable form containing from about1, 2, 5, 10, 25, or 50 mg to about 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 mg of activesubstance.

The compounds according to the preferred embodiments can also beadministered parenterally in the form of solutions or suspensions forintravenous or intramuscular perfusions or injections. In that case, thecompounds according to the preferred embodiments are generallyadministered at the rate of about 10 μg to 10 mg per day per kg of bodyweight; a preferred method of administration consists of using solutionsor suspensions containing approximately from 0.01 mg to 1 mg of activesubstance per ml. Preferably, the compounds according to the preferredembodiments are generally administered at the rate of about 10, 20, 30,40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 μg to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 mgper day per kg of body weight; a preferred method of administrationconsists of using solutions or suspensions containing approximately from0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, or 0.5 mg to 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7,0.8, 0.9, or 1 mg of active substance per ml.

The compounds of formula I, II, IIa, III, IIIa, or IV can be used in asubstantially similar manner to other known anti-tumor agents fortreating (both chemopreventively and therapeutically) various tumors.For the compounds of the preferred embodiments, the anti-tumor dose tobe administered, whether a single dose, multiple dose, or a daily dose,will of course vary with the particular compound employed because of thevarying potency of the compound, the chosen route of administration, thesize of the recipient, the type of tumor, and the nature of thepatient's condition. The dosage to be administered is not subject todefinite bounds, but it will usually be an effective amount, or theequivalent on a molar basis of the pharmacologically active free formproduced from a dosage formulation upon the metabolic release of theactive drug to achieve its desired pharmacological and physiologicaleffects. An oncologist skilled in the art of cancer treatment will beable to ascertain, without undue experimentation, appropriate protocolsfor the effective administration of the compounds of the preferredembodiments, such as by referring to the earlier published studies oncompounds found to have anti-tumor properties.

The preferred embodiments relate to methods of treatment of disordersinvolving T-cells include, but are not limited to, cell-mediatedhypersensitivity, such as delayed type hypersensitivity andT-cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and transplant rejection; autoimmunediseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren syndrome,systemic sclerosis, inflammatory myopathies, mixed connective tissuedisease, and polyarteritis nodosa and other vasculitides; immunologicdeficiency syndromes, including but not limited to, primaryimmunodeficiencies, such as thymic hypoplasia, severe combinedimmunodeficiency diseases, and AIDS; leukopenia; reactive (inflammatory)proliferations of white cells, including but not limited to,leukocytosis, acute nonspecific lymphadenitis, and chronic nonspecificlymphadenitis; neoplastic proliferations of white cells, including butnot limited to lymphoid neoplasms, such as precursor T-cell neoplasms,such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, peripheral T-cell andnatural killer cell neoplasms that include peripheral T-cell lymphoma,unspecified, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, mycosis fungoides and Szarysyndrome, and Hodgkin disease.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todiseases of the skin. Diseases of the skin, include but are not limitedto, disorders of pigmentation and melanocytes, including but not limitedto, vitiligo, freckle, melasma, lentigo, nevocellular nevus, dysplasticnevi, and malignant melanoma; benign epithelial tumors, including butnot limited to, seborrheic keratoses, acanthosis nigricans,fibroepithelial polyp, epithelial cyst, keratoacanthoma, and adnexal(appendage) tumors; premalignant and malignant epidermal tumors,including but not limited to, actinic keratosis, squamous cellcarcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and merkel cell carcinoma, tumors ofthe dermis, including but not limited to, benign fibrous histiocytoma,dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, xanthomas, and dermal vascular tumors;tumors of cellular immigrants to the skin, including but not limited to,histiocytosis X, mycosis fungoides (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma), andmastocytosis; disorders of epidermal maturation, including but notlimited to, ichthyosis; acute inflammatory dermatoses, including but notlimited to, urticaria, acute eczematous dermatitis, and erythemamultiforme; chronic inflammatory dermatoses, including but not limitedto, psoriasis, lichen planus, and lupus erythematosus; blistering(bullous) diseases, including but not limited to, pemphigus, bullouspemphigoid, dermatitis herpetiformis, and noninflammatory blisteringdiseases: epidermolysis bullosa and porphyria; disorders of epidermalappendages, including but not limited to, acne vulgaris; panniculitis,including but not limited to, erythema nodosum and erythema induratum;and infection and infestation, such as verrucae, molluscum contagiosum,impetigo, superficial fungal infections, and arthropod bites, stings,and infestations.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders arising from bone marrow cells. In normal bone marrow, themyelocytic series (polymorphoneuclear cells) make up approximately 60%of the cellular elements, and the erythrocytic series, 20-30%.Lymphocytes, monocytes, reticular cells, plasma cells and megakaryocytestogether constitute 10-20%. Lymphocytes make up 5-15% of normal adultmarrow. In the bone marrow, cell types are add mixed so that precursorsof red blood cells (erythroblasts), macrophages (monoblasts), platelets(megakaryocytes), polymorphoneuclear leukocytes (myeloblasts), andlymphocytes (lymphoblasts) can be visible in one microscopic field. Inaddition, stem cells exist for the different cell lineages, as well as aprecursor stem cell for the committed progenitor cells of the differentlineages. The various types of cells and stages of each are known to theperson of ordinary skill in the art and are found, for example, inImmunology, Imunopathology and Immunity, Fifth Edition, Sell et al.Simon and Schuster (1996), which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments are directed todisorders arising from these cells. These disorders include but are notlimited to the following: diseases involving hematopoietic stem cells;committed lymphoid progenitor cells; lymphoid cells including B andT-cells; committed myeloid progenitors, including monocytes,granulocytes, and megakaryocytes; and committed erythroid progenitors.These include but are not limited to the leukemias, including B-lymphoidleukemias, T-lymphoid leukemias, undifferentiated leukemias;erythroleukemia, megakaryoblastic leukemia, monocytic; [leukemias areencompassed with and without differentiation]; chronic and acutelymphoblastic leukemia, chronic and acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronicand acute myelogenous leukemia, lymphoma, myelo dysplastic syndrome,chronic and acute myeloid leukemia, myelomonocytic leukemia; chronic andacute myeloblastic leukemia, chronic and acute myelogenous leukemia,chronic and acute promyelocytic leukemia, chronic and acute myelocyticleukemia, hematologic malignancies of monocyte-macrophage lineage, suchas juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia; secondary AML, antecedenthematological disorder; refractory anemia; aplastic anemia; reactivecutaneous angioendotheliomatosis; fibrosing disorders involving alteredexpression in dendritic cells, disorders including systemic sclerosis,E-M syndrome, epidemic toxic oil syndrome, eosinophilic fasciitislocalized forms of scleroderma, keloid, and fibrosing colonopathy;angiomatoid malignant fibrous histiocytoma; carcinoma, including primaryhead and neck squamous cell carcinoma; sarcoma, including kaposi'ssarcoma; fibroadenoma and phyllodes tumors, including mammaryfibroadenoma; stromal tumors; phyllodes tumors, including histiocytoma;erythroblastosis; neurofibromatosis; diseases of the vascularendothelium; demyelinating, particularly in old lesions; gliosis,vasogenic edema, vascular disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease;T-cell lymphomas; B-cell lymphomas.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving the spleen. Disorders involving the spleen include,but are not limited to, splenomegaly, including nonspecific acutesplenitis, congestive spenomegaly, and spenic infarcts; neoplasms,congenital anomalies, and rupture. Disorders associated withsplenomegaly include infections, such as nonspecific splenitis,infectious mononucleosis, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, brucellosis,cytomegalovirus, syphilis, malaria, histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis,kala-azar, trypanosomiasis, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, andechinococcosis; congestive states related to partial hypertension, suchas cirrhosis of the liver, portal or splenic vein thrombosis, andcardiac failure; lymphohematogenous disorders, such as Hodgkin disease,non-Hodgkin lymphomas/leukemia, multiple myeloma, myeloproliferativedisorders, hemolytic anemias, and thrombocytopenic purpura;immunologic-inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis andsystemic lupus erythematosus; storage diseases such as Gaucher disease,Niemann-Pick disease, and mucopolysaccharidoses; and other conditions,such as amyloidosis, primary neoplasms and cysts, and secondaryneoplasms.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving blood vessels. Disorders involving blood vesselsinclude, but are not limited to, responses of vascular cell walls toinjury, such as endothelial dysfunction and endothelial activation andintimal thickening; vascular diseases including, but not limited to,congenital anomalies, such as arteriovenous fistula, atherosclerosis,and hypertensive vascular disease, such as hypertension; inflammatorydisease—the vasculitides, such as giant cell (temporal) arteritis,Takayasu arteritis, polyarteritis nodosa (classic), Kawasaki syndrome(mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome), microscopic polyanglitis(microscopic polyarteritis, hypersensitivity or leukocytoclasticanglitis), Wegener granulomatosis, thromboanglitis obliterans (Buergerdisease), vasculitis associated with other disorders, and infectiousarteritis; Raynaud disease; aneurysms and dissection, such as abdominalaortic aneurysms, syphilitic (luetic) aneurysms, and aortic dissection(dissecting hematoma); disorders of veins and lymphatics, such asvaricose veins, thrombophlebitis and phlebothrombosis, obstruction ofsuperior vena cava (superior vena cava syndrome), obstruction ofinferior vena cava (inferior vena cava syndrome), and lymphangitis andlymphedema; tumors, including benign tumors and tumor-like conditions,such as hemangioma, lymphangioma, glomus tumor (glomangioma), vascularectasias, and bacillary angiomatosis, and intermediate-grade (borderlinelow-grade malignant) tumors, such as Kaposi sarcoma andhemangloendothelioma, and malignant tumors, such as angiosarcoma andhemangiopcricytoma; and pathology of therapeutic interventions invascular disease, such as balloon angioplasty and related techniques andvascular replacement, such as coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving red cells. Disorders involving red cells include,but are not limited to, anemias, such as hemolytic anemias, includinghereditary spherocytosis, hemolytic disease due to erythrocyte enzymedefects: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, sickle celldisease, thalassemia syndromes, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria,immunohemolytic anemia, and hemolytic anemia resulting from trauma tored cells; and anemias of diminished erythropoiesis, includingmegaloblastic anemias, such as anemias of vitamin B12 deficiency:pernicious anemia, and anemia of folate deficiency, iron deficiencyanemia, anemia of chronic disease, aplastic anemia, pure red cellaplasia, and other forms of marrow failure.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving B-cells. Disorders involving B-cells include, butare not limited to precursor B-cell neoplasms, such as lymphoblasticleukemia/lymphoma. Peripheral B-cell neoplasms include, but are notlimited to, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma,follicular lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma,plasma cell neoplasms, multiple myeloma, and related entities,lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia), mantle celllymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma (MALToma), and hairy cell leukemia.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders related to reduced platelet number. Disorders related toreduced platelet number, thrombocytopenia, include idiopathicthrombocytopenic purpura, including acute idiopathic thrombocytopenicpurpura, drug-induced thrombocytopenia, HIV-associated thrombocytopenia,and thrombotic microangiopathies: thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpuraand hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving precursor T-cell neoplasms. Disorders involvingprecursor T-cell neoplasms include precursor T lymphoblasticleukemia/lymphoma. Disorders involving peripheral T-cell and naturalkiller cell neoplasms include T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, largegranular lymphocytic leukemia, mycosis fungoides and Szary syndrome,peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified, angioimmunoblastic T-celllymphoma, angiocentric lymphoma (NK/T-cell lymphoma4a), intestinalT-cell lymphoma, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, and anaplastic largecell lymphoma.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders of the bone. Bone-forming cells include the osteoprogenitorcells, osteoblasts, and osteocytes. The disorders of the bone arecomplex because they can have an impact on the skeleton during any ofits stages of development. Hence, the disorders can have variablemanifestations and can involve one, multiple or all bones of the body.Such disorders include, congenital malformations, achondroplasia andthanatophoric dwarfism, diseases associated with abnormal matrix such astype 1 collagen disease, osteoporosis, Paget disease, rickets,osteomalacia, high-turnover osteodystrophy, low-turnover of aplasticdisease, osteonecrosis, pyogenic osteomyelitis, tuberculousosteomyelitism, osteoma, osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma, osteosarcoma,osteochondroma, chondromas, chondroblastoma, chondromyxoid fibroma,chondrosarcoma, fibrous cortical defects, fibrous dysplasia,fibrosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, Ewing sarcoma, primitiveneuroectodermal tumor, giant cell tumor, and metastatic tumors.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving the tonsils. Disorders involving the tonsilsinclude, but are not limited to, tonsillitis, Peritonsillar abscess,squamous cell carcinoma, dyspnea, hyperplasia, follicular hyperplasia,reactive lymphoid hyperplasia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and B-celllymphoma.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving the liver. Disorders involving the liver include,but are not limited to, hepatic injury; jaundice and cholestasis, suchas bilirubin and bile formation; hepatic failure and cirrhosis, such ascirrhosis, portal hypertension, including ascites, portosystemic shunts,and splenomegaly; infectious disorders, such as viral hepatitis,including hepatitis A-E infection and infection by other hepatitisviruses, clinicopathologic syndromes, such as the carrier state,asymptomatic infection, acute viral hepatitis, chronic viral hepatitis,and fulminant hepatitis; autoimmune hepatitis, drug- and toxin-inducedliver disease, such as alcoholic liver disease; inborn errors ofmetabolism and pediatric liver disease, such as hemochromatosis, Wilsondisease, .alpha.1-antitrypsin deficiency, and neonatal hepatitis;intrahepatic biliary tract disease, such as secondary biliary cirrhosis,primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and anomaliesof the biliary tree; circulatory disorders, such as impaired blood flowinto the liver, including hepatic artery compromise and portal veinobstruction and thrombosis, impaired blood flow through the liver,including passive congestion and centrilobular necrosis and peliosishepatis, hepatic vein outflow obstruction, including hepatic veinthrombosis (Budd-Chiari syndrome) and veno-occlusive disease; hepaticdisease associated with pregnancy, such as preeclampsia and eclampsia,acute fatty liver of pregnancy, and intrehepatic cholestasis ofpregnancy; hepatic complications of organ or bone marrowtransplantation, such as drug toxicity after bone marrowtransplantation, graft-versus-host disease and liver rejection, andnonimmunologic damage to liver allografts; tumors and tumorousconditions, such as nodular hyperplasias, adenomas, and malignanttumors, including primary carcinoma of the liver and metastatic tumors.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving the colon. Disorders involving the colon include,but are not limited to, congenital anomalies, such as atresia andstenosis, Meckel diverticulum, congenital aganglionicmegacolon-Hirschsprung disease; enterocolitis, such as diarrhea anddysentery, infectious enterocolitis, including viral gastroenteritis,bacterial enterocolitis, necrotizing enterocolitis,antibiotic-associated colitis (pseudomembranous colitis), andcollagenous and lymphocytic colitis, miscellaneous intestinalinflammatory disorders, including parasites and protozoa, acquiredimmunodeficiency syndrome, transplantation, drug-induced intestinalinjury, radiation enterocolitis, neutropenic colitis (typhlitis), anddiversion colitis; idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohndisease and ulcerative colitis; tumors of the colon, such asnon-neoplastic polyps, adenomas, familial syndromes, colorectalcarcinogenesis, colorectal carcinoma, and carcinoid tumors.

The compounds of preferred embodiments can be used in relation todisorders involving the lung. Disorders involving the lung include, butare not limited to, congenital anomalies; atelectasis; diseases ofvascular origin, such as pulmonary congestion and edema, includinghemodynamic pulmonary edema and edema caused by microvascular injury,adult respiratory distress syndrome (diffuse alveolar damage), pulmonaryembolism, hemorrhage, and infarction, and pulmonary hypertension andvascular sclerosis; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, such asemphysema, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and bronchiectasis;diffuse interstitial (infiltrative, restrictive) diseases, such aspneumoconioses, sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, desquamativeinterstitial pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pulmonaryeosinophilia (pulmonary infiltration with eosinophilia), Bronchiolitisobliterans-organizing pneumonia, diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage syndromes,including Goodpasture syndrome, idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis andother hemorrhagic syndromes, pulmonary involvement in collagen vasculardisorders, and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis; complications oftherapies, such as drug-induced lung disease, radiation-induced lungdisease, and lung transplantation; tumors, such as bronchogeniccarcinoma, including paraneoplastic syndromes, bronchioloalveolarcarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors, such as bronchial carcinoid,miscellaneous tumors, and metastatic tumors; pathologies of the pleura,including inflammatory pleural effusions, noninflammatory pleuraleffusions, pneumothorax, and pleural tumors, including solitary fibroustumors (pleural fibroma) and malignant mesothelioma.

The active compounds can be incorporated into pharmaceuticalcompositions suitable for administration to a subject, e.g., a human.Such compositions typically comprise the nucleic acid molecule, protein,modulator, or antibody and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

As used herein the language “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” isintended to include any and all solvents, dispersion media, coatings,antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delayingagents, and the like, compatible with pharmaceutical administration. Theuse of such media and agents for pharmaceutically active substances iswell known in the art. Except.insofar as any conventional media or agentis incompatible with the active compound, such media can be used in thecompositions of the preferred embodiments. Supplementary activecompounds can also be incorporated into the compositions. Apharmaceutical composition of the preferred embodiments is formulated tobe compatible with its intended route of administration. Examples ofroutes of administration include parenteral, e.g., intravenous,intradermal, subcutaneous, oral (e.g., inhalation), transdermal(topical), transmucosal, and rectal administration. Solutions orsuspensions used for parenteral, intradermal, or subcutaneousapplication can include the following components: a sterile diluentsuchf as water for injection, saline solution, fixed oils, polyethyleneglycols, glycerine, propylene glycol or other synthetic solvents;antibacterial agents such as benzyl alcohol or methyl parabens;antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or sodium bisulfite; chelating agentssuch as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, buffers such as acetates,citrates or phosphates and agents for the adjustment of tonicity such assodium chloride or dextrose. pH can be adjusted with acids or bases,such as hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide. The parenteralpreparation can be enclosed in ampoules, disposable syringes or multipledose vials made of glass or plastic.

In one embodiment, the active compounds are prepared with carriers thatwill protect the compound against rapid elimination from the body, suchas a controlled release formulation, including implants andmicroencapsulated delivery systems. Biodegradable, biocompatiblepolymers can be used, such as ethylene vinyl acetate, polyanhydrides,polyglycolic acid, collagen, polyorthoesters, and polylactic acid.Methods for preparation of such formulations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. The materials can also be obtained commercially fromAlza Corporation and Nova Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Liposomal suspensions(including liposomes) can also be used as pharmaceutically acceptablecarriers. These can be prepared according to methods known to thoseskilled in the art.

It is especially advantageous to formulate oral or parenteralcompositions in dosage unit form for ease of administration anduniformity of dosage. “Dosage unit form” as used herein refers tophysically discrete units suited as unitary dosages for the subject tobe treated, each unit containing a predetermined quantity of activecompound calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect inassociation with the required pharmaceutical carrier. The specificationfor the dosage unit forms of the preferred embodiments are dictated byand directly dependent on the unique characteristics of the activecompound and the particular therapeutic effect to be achieved, and thelimitations inherent in the art of compounding such an active compoundfor the treatment of individuals.

As used herein, the term “therapeutically effective amount” means thetotal amount of each active component of the pharmaceutical compositionor method that is sufficient to show a meaningful patient benefit, e.g.,healing of chronic conditions or in an increase in rate of healing ofsuch conditions, or in a reduction in aberrant conditions. This includesboth therapeutic and prophylactic treatments. Accordingly, the compoundscan be used at very early stages of a disease, or before early onset, orafter significant progression. When applied to an individual activeingredient, administered alone, the term refers to that ingredientalone. When applied to a combination, the term refers to combinedamounts of the active ingredients that result in the therapeutic effect,whether administered in combination, serially or simultaneously.

In practicing the method of treatment or use of the preferredembodiments, a therapeutically effective amount of one, two, or more ofthe active agents of the preferred embodiments is administered to asubject afflicted with a disease or disorder related to Rho familyGTPases, or to a tissue which has such disease or disorder. The activeagents of the preferred embodiments can be administered in accordancewith the method of the preferred embodiments either alone of incombination with other known therapies. When co-administered with one ormore other therapies, the active agents of the preferred embodiments canbe administered either simultaneously with the other treatment(s), orsequentially. If administered sequentially, the attending physician willdecide on the appropriate sequence of administering the active agents ofthe preferred embodiments in combination with the other therapy.

Generally, a therapeutically effective amount of active agent (i.e., aneffective dosage) ranges from about 0.001 to 5000 mg/kg body weight,more preferably about 0.01 to 1000 mg/kg body weight, more preferablyabout 0.01 to 500 mg/kg body weight, more preferably about 0.01 to 250mg/kg body weight, more preferably about 0.01 to 100 mg/kg body weight,more preferably about 0.001 to 60 mg/kg body weight, more preferablyabout 0.01 to 25 mg/kg body weight, more preferably about 0.1 to 20mg/kg body weight, and even more preferably about 1 to 10 mg/kg, 2 to 9mg/kg, 3 to 8 mg/kg, 4 to 7 mg/kg, or 5 to 6 mg/kg body weight.

The skilled artisan will appreciate that certain factors can influencethe dosage required to effectively treat a subject, including but notlimited to the severity of the disease or disorder, previous treatments,the general health and/or age of the subject, and other diseasespresent. Moreover, treatment of a subject with a therapeuticallyeffective amount can include a single treatment or, preferably, caninclude a series of treatments. In a preferred example, a subject istreated in the range of between about 0.1 to 20 mg/kg body weight, onetime per week for between about 1 to 10 weeks, preferably between 2 to 8weeks, more preferably between about 3 to 7 weeks, and even morepreferably for about 4, 5, or 6 weeks. It will also be appreciated thatthe effective dosage used for treatment can increase or decrease overthe course of a particular treatment. Changes in dosage can result andbecome apparent from the results of diagnostic assays as describedherein.

The preferred embodiments encompass one or more additional agents thatmodulate expression or activity of Rac GTPase. An agent can, forexample, be a small molecule. For example, such small molecules include,but are not limited to, peptides, peptidomimetics, amino acids, aminoacid analogs, polynucleotides, polynucleotide analogs, nucleotides,nucleotide analogs, organic or inorganic compounds (i.e., includingheteroorganic and organometallic compounds) having a molecular weightless than about 10,000 grams per mole, organic or inorganic compoundshaving a molecular weight less than about 5,000 grams per mole, organicor inorganic compounds having a molecular weight less than about 1,000grams per mole, organic or inorganic compounds having a molecular weightless than about 500 grams per mole, and salts, esters, and otherpharmaceutically acceptable forms of such compounds.

In one embodiment, the additional agent can be a prenylation inhibitor,such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,649,638, 5,420,245; 5,574,025;5,523,430; 5,602,098; 5,631,401; 5,705,686; 5,238,922; 5,470,832; and6,191,147, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

In another embodiment, the additional agent comprises one or moreinhibitor of farnesyl protein transferase (FPTase), prenyl-proteintransferase or geranylgeranyl-protein transferase as described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,572,850; 6,458,783; 6,423,751; 6,387,926; 6,242,433;6,191,147; 6,166,067; 6,156,746; 6,083,979; 6,011,029; 5,929,077;5,928,924; 5,843,941; 5,786,193; 5,629,302; 5,618,964; 5,574,025;5,567,841; 5,523,430; 5,510,510; 5,470,832; 5,447,922, 6,596,735;6,586,461; 6,586,447; 6,579,887; 6,576,639; 6,545,020; 6,539,309;6,535,820; 6,528,523; 6,511,800; 6,500,841; 6,495,564; 6,492,381;6,458,935; 6,451,812; 6,441,017; 6,440,989; 6,440,974; 6,432,959;6,426,352; 6,410,541; 6,403,581; 6,399,615; 6,387,948; 6,387,905;6,387,903; 6,376,496; 6,372,747; 6,362,188; 6,358,968; 6,329,376;6,316,462; 6,294,552; 6,277,854; 6,268,394; 6,265,382; 6,262,110;6,258,824; 6,248,756; 6,242,458; 6,239,140; 6,228,865; 6,228,856;6,225,322; 6,218,401; 6,214,828; 6,214,827; 6,211,193; 6,194,438, whichare specifically incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

A “farnesyl protein transferase inhibitor” or “FPT inhibitor” or “FTI”is defined herein as a compound which: (i) potently inhibits FPT (butgenerally not geranylgeranyl protein transferase I) and (ii) blocksintracellular famesylation of ras. FPT catalyzes the addition of anisoprenyl lipid moiety onto a cysteine residue present near thecarboxy-terminus of the Ras protein. This is the first step in apost-translational processing pathway that is essential for both Rasmembrane-association and Ras-induced oncogenic transformation. A numberof FPT inhibitors have been reported, including a variety ofpeptidomimetic inhibitors as well as other small molecule inhibitors.

Farnesyl transferase inhibitors generally fall into two classes: analogsof farnesyl diphosphate; and protein substrates for farnesyltransferase. Farnesyl transferase inhibitors have been described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,756,528, 5,141,851, 5,817,678, 5,830,868, 5,834,434, and5,773,455, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety. Among the farnesyl transferase inhibitors shown to beeffective for inhibiting the transfer of the farnesyl moiety toRas-related proteins are L-739,749 (a peptidomimetic analog of theC-A-A-X sequence), L-744,832 (a peptidomimetic analog of the C-A-A-Xsequence), SCH 44342 (1-(4-pyridylacetyl)-4-(8-chloro-5,6 dihydro-IIHbenzo[5,6]cyclohepta [1,2-b]pyridin-11-yhdene)piperidine), BZA-5B (abenzodiazepine peptidomimetic), FTI-276 (a C-A-A-X peptidomimetic), andB1086 (a C-A-A-X peptidomimetic). Administration of farnesyl transferaseinhibitors (FTIs) is accomplished by standard methods known to those ofskill in the art, most preferably by administration of tabletscontaining the FTI, and is expected to fall approximately within a rangeof about 0.1 mg/kg of body to weight to about 20 mg/kg of body weightper day.

In another embodiment, the additional agent comprises one or moreinhibitor of geranylgeranyl-protein transferase (GGT) as have beendescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,832 (Gibbs & Graham), which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These compounds can beadministered to an individual in dosage amounts of between 0.5 mg/kg ofbody weight to about 20 mg/kg of body weight. Alternatively, one or moreinhibitors of isoprenylation, including farnesyl transferase (FT)inhibitors and/or geranylgeranyl transferase inhibitors (GGT) areadministered to a patient.

In another embodiment, the additional agent comprises one or more toxinssuch as toxins A and B from C. difficile and C. sordellii lethal toxin(LT). In addition, Rac 1 and Rac2 can be inhibited when Rho isspecifically ADP ribosylated by C3 enzyme, which is one of the botulinumtoxins, and Staphylococcal toxin EDIN (Narumiya, S. and Morii, S., CellSignal, 5, 9-19, 1993; Sekine, A. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 264,8602-8605, 1989, all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety).

It is understood that appropriate doses of small molecule agents dependsupon a number of factors within the ken of the ordinarily skilledphysician, veterinarian, or researcher. The dose(s) of the smallmolecule will vary, for example, depending upon the identity, size, andcondition of the subject or sample being treated, further depending uponthe route by which the composition is to be administered, if applicable,and the effect which the practitioner desires the small molecule to haveupon the nucleic acid or polypeptide of the preferred embodiments.Exemplary doses include milligram or microgram amounts of the smallmolecule per kilogram of subject or sample weight (e.g., about 1microgram per kilogram to about 500 milligrams per kilogram, about 100micrograms per kilogram to about 5 milligrams per kilogram, or about 1microgram per kilogram to about 50 micrograms per kilogram. It isfurthermore understood that appropriate doses of a small molecule dependupon the potency of the small molecule with respect to the expression oractivity to be modulated. Such appropriate doses can be determined usingthe assays described herein. When one or more of these small moleculesis to be administered to an animal (e.g., a human) in order to modulateexpression or activity of a polypeptide or nucleic acid of the preferredembodiments, a physician, veterinarian, or researcher can, for example,prescribe a relatively low dose at first, subsequently increasing thedose until an appropriate response is obtained. In addition, it isunderstood that the specific dose level for any particular animalsubject will depend upon a variety of factors including the activity ofthe specific compound employed, the age, body weight, general health,gender, and diet of the subject, the time of administration, the routeof administration, the rate of excretion, any drug combination, and thedegree of expression or activity to be modulated.

The examples disclosed below illustrated preferred embodiments and arenot intended to limit the scope. It is evident to those skilled in theart that modifications or variations can be made to the preferredembodiments described herein without departing from the teachings of thepresent invention.

EXAMPLES

Recombinant protein production. Recombinant Trio (residues 1225-1537)containing the N-terminal DH/PH module, Rac1, Cdc42 and the p21-bindingdomain (PBD) of PAK1 (residues 51-135) are expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) strain as N-terminal His₆-tagged fusion proteins by using the pETexpression system (Novagen). Rac1, Cdc42, Intersectin, PAK1 (PBD) andWASP (PBD) are expressed in E. coli DH5α strain as GST fusions by usingthe pGEX-KG vector. The N-terminal tagged GST or His₆ fusion proteinsare purified by glutathione- or Ni²⁺-agarose affinity chromatography.GST-Rho GTPases on glutathione beads are eluted off bound guaninenucleotides or Mg²⁺ by washing with a buffer containing 50 mM Trio-HCl,PH 7.6, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, and 1 mM DTT.

In vitro complex formation assay. About 0.5 μg of His₆-tagged Trio isincubated with 0.5 μg, EDTA-treated, GST-fused Cdc42 or Rac1 in abinding buffer containing 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.6, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM DTT,1% bovine serum albumin, 1% Triton X-100, 1 mM MgCl₂ and 10 μl suspendedglutathione-agarose beads. ˜0.75 μg of GST-tagged Intersectin isincubated with nucleotide-free, His₆-tagged Cdc42 or Rac1 (0.25 μg) inthe binding buffer with 10 μl suspended glutathione-agarose beads. Afterincubation at 4° C. for 30 min under constant agitation, the glutathionebeads are washed twice with the binding buffer. The amount ofHis₆-tagged protein co-precipitated with the GST-fusion bound beads isdetected by anti-His Western blotting.

In vitro guanine nucleotide exchange assay. For these, 200 nM Rac1loaded with mant-GDP is incubated at 25° C. in an exchange buffercontaining 100 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl₂, 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.6), and 0.5 mMGTP in the absence or presence of 200 nM Trio. The mant-GDP fluorescencechanges in the course of the exchange reactions are monitored with anexcitation wavelength at 360 nm and the emission wavelength at 440 nm bya Cary Ellipse fluorescence spectrometer (Varian, Inc.).

Cell culture. NIH 3T3 fibroblasts are grown in Dulbeeco's modifiedDagle's medium supplemented with 10% calf serum. RWPE-1 cells areobtained from the American Type culture collection (ATCC) and are grownin keratinocyte-Serum Free medium (GIBCO-BRL) supplemented with 5 ng/mlEGF and 0.05 mg/ml bovine pituitary extract. PC-3 cells are cultured inRPM1 1640 medium (Cellgro) supplemented with 10% FBS.

Endogenous Rho GTPase activity assay. GST- or His₆-PAK1 (PBD) andGST-WASP (PBD) are expressed in Escherichia coli and purified byglutathione- or Ni²⁺-agarose affinity chromatography. Cells are grown inlog phase in a 10 cm dish, and are starved in 0.5% serum medium orindicated otherwise for 24 hrs prior to lysis in a buffer containing 20mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.6), 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM MgCl₂, 1% NP-40, 10% glycerol,and 1× proteases inhibitor cocktail (Roch). Lysates are clarified andthe protein concentrations are normalized. The cell lysates containingequal amount of proteins are incubated with 10 μg GST- or His₆-fusionprobes for 40 min at 4° C. under constant rotation. The beads are washedtwice with the lysis buffer, and the bound-Rho GTPases are detected byanti-Rac1 (Upstate), or anti-Cdc42 (BD Transduction Laboratories)Western blotting. Quantification of the Western blots is carried outusing a LAS-1000 luminescent image analyzer (Fujifilm medical system,USA, Inc.).

Immunofluorescence. After overnight serum starvation in the presence orabsence of 100 μM 23766, NIH 3T3 cells grown on cover glasses aretreated with 10 nM PDGF for zero, five or ten minutes. The cells arefixed with 3.7% formaldehyde in PBS for 15 min, and permeabilized with0.1% Trion X-100 for 20 min. The cellular actin is stained withTRITC-labeled phalloidin (Sigma) at 10 μg/ml in PBS for 40 min at roomtemperature. The actin and cell morphological changes are visualized byfluorescence microscopy.

Cell growth assay. Wild type and RacL61- or various GEF-transfected NIH3T3 cells are grown in 5% calf serum. The cells are split in duplicatein 6-well plates at 5×10⁴ cells per well and are counted daily with ahemocytometer for 4 days. The growth rate of the prostate PC-3 cells ismeasured by the CellTiter 96 AQueous assay (Promega). 1,500 cells/wellin 200 μl of 5% FBS medium are plated in 96-well plates and are grownunder normal conditions. Cultures are assayed in 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5days by the addition of 20 μl of the combined MTS/PMS solution followedby incubation for one hour at 37° C. Absorbency is measured at awavelength of 490 nm on an automated microplate reader.

Anchorage independent growth. The prostate epithelia RWPE and PC-3 cells(1.25×10³ per well) are grown in 0.3 % agarose in the absence orpresence of different doses of compound 23766 following a publishedprotocol (Qiu et al., 1997, which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety). The number of colonies formed in soft agar is countedafter ten days.

Cell invasion assays. The cell invasion assays are performed using6.4-mm Biocoat Matrigel invasion chambers with 8.0-micron pore size PETmembrane (Becton-Dickinson) according to the manufactory instructions.Briefly, 5×10⁴ cells are resuspended in 0.5 ml of serum free culturemedium and added to the upper chamber. 10% fetal bovine serum in theculture medium is used as a chemo-attractant in the lower chamber. Afterthe cells are incubated for overnight, the number of cell passed throughthe Matrigel is counted.

Results

Virtual Screening for Rac1-specific inhibitors. In the three-dimensional(3D) structure of Rac1-Tiam1 complex, Trp⁵⁶ of Rac1 is buried in apocket formed by residues His¹¹⁷⁸, Ser¹⁸⁴, Glu¹¹⁸³, and Ile¹¹⁹⁷ of Tiam1and Lys⁵, Val⁷, Thr⁵⁸, and Ser⁷¹ of Rac1 (Worthylake et al., 2000, whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). To identifyRac1-specific inhibitors based on the structural features surroundingTrp⁵⁶, a potential inhibitor-binding pocket is created with residues ofRac1 within 6.5 angstroms of Trp⁵⁶ in the Rac1-Tiam1 monomer, includingLys⁵, Val⁷, Trp⁵⁶, and Ser⁷¹. A 3D database search is performed toidentify compounds whose conformations would fit the binding pocket. Inorder to take the flexibility of the compounds into consideration duringthe screening process, the program UNITY, whose Directed Tweak algorithmallows a rapid, conformationally flexible 3D search (Hurst, 1994, whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), is applied.

The small molecule hits yielded by the UNITY program are next dockedinto the predicted binding pocket of Rac1 containing Trp⁵⁶ by using theprogram FlexX, an energy minimization modeling software that can quicklyand flexibly dock ligand to protein binding site (Rarey et al., 1996,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Followingthe docking procedures, the compounds are ranked based on theirpredicted ability to bind the binding pocket using the program Cscore.Cscore generates a relative, consensus score based on how well theindividual scoring functions of the protein-ligand complex perform(Clark et al., 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety).

Compound NCI 23766 specifically inhibits Rac1-GEF interaction. Compoundsfrom the virtual screening, including Compound NCI 23766, were obtainedfrom the National Cancer Institute-Research Samples and Services fromDevelopmental Therapeutics Program (Bethesda, Md.). Also, Compound NCI23766 can be synthesized as set forth herein.

Synthetic Scheme 1 follows closely the reaction conditions of SyntheticScheme 2. In Synthetic Scheme 2, NHR₁R₂ is compound 10. NHR₁R₂ can bevaried to be included within the preferred embodiments. NHR₁R₂ can becommercially available or synthesized using standard chemicalmethodologies. The reaction between NHR₁R₂ and Compound 9 or 9a is astandard amination reaction onto a haloaromatic ring.

The synthetic scheme described herein can be carried out using standardchemical methodologies described and referenced in standard textbooks.One may substitute other reagents known in the art which are known to beequivalent or perform a similar function. Starting material arecommercially available reagents and reactions are preferably carried outin standard laboratory glassware under reaction conditions of standardtemperature and pressure, except where otherwise indicated.

ExperimentalGeneral:

Raw materials were purchased from Aldrich, Acros, Fisher or MatrixScientific. All solvents were ACS grade or better. Reactions were rununder an atmosphere of dry nitrogen as necessary. Removal of solvents“in vacuo” refers to rotary evaporation using a Buchi apparatus at25-50° C. and 45 Torr. Vacuum drying was done under high vacuum. All NMRspectra were recorded using a Varian-Gemini 300 spectrometer at 300 MHzfor ¹H NMR using CHCl₃ (7.26 ppm) or DMSO (2.5 ppm) as a reference andat 75 MHz for ¹³C NMR using CDCl₃ (77.0 ppm) or DMSO (39.43) as areference.

Methyl 3-{[4-(acetylamino)phenyl]amino}but-2-enoate (3): A suspension of4-aminoacetanilide (2) (253 g, 1.68 mol) and methyl acetoacetate (215 g,1.85 mol) in MeOH (0.75 L) was heated to reflux. The resulting solutionwas held at reflux for 16 h and then cooled to 5° C. The resultingoff-white precipitate was filtered and washed with MTBE (3×200 mL) togive butenoate 3 (195 g, 47% yield). The mother liquor was concentratedin vacuo and filtered to give a second crop of 3 as pale pink solids(141 g, 34% yield, 81% overall yield). ¹H NMR (DMSO) δ 10.22 (s, 1 H),9.97 (s, 1 H), 7.57 (d, 2 H), 7.11 (d, 2 H), 4.65 (s, 1 H), 3.56 (s, 3H), 2.04 (s, 3 H), 1.94 (s, 3 H); ¹³C NMR (DMSO) δ 169.64, 168.07,159.33, 136.48, 133.55, 124.52, 119.44, 84.47, 49.77, 23.81, 19.68.

N-(4-Hydroxy-2-methylquinolin-6-yl)acetamide (4): Phenyl ether (1 L) washeated to 255° C. Butenoate 3 (334 g, 1.35 mol) was carefully addedportionwise while maintaining temperature 245-260° C. After the additionwas complete, the yellow-orange suspension was held at 255° C. for anadditional 15 min. The mixture was slowly cooled to 40° C., the solidswere collected by filtration and washed with EtOAc (3×500 mL) followedby MeOH (3×500 mL) to give hydroxy quinoline 4 as yellow-orange solid(256 g, 88% yield); ¹H NMR (DMSO) δ 11.52 (br, s, 1 H), 10.07 (s, 1 H),8.24 (s, 1 H), 7.82 (d, 1 H), 7.42 (d, 1 H), 5.84 (s, 1 H), 2.31 (s, 3H), 2.05 (s, 1 H).

N-(4-Methoxy-2-methylqiuinolin-6-yl)acetamide (5): Dimethyl sulfate (294g, 2.33 mol) was charged to a suspension of hydroxyquinoline 4 (287 g,1.33 mol) in toluene (1.5 L) and the mixture was refluxed for 6 h. Aftercooling to ambient temperature, the resulting dark yellow solids werecollected by filtration and washed with toluene. The dry solid wasdissolved in water (2.5 L) and the pH adjusted to 14 using 35% aqueousNaOH (290 g). The resulting tan precipitate was collected by filtration,washed with copious amounts of water and dried in vacuo at 60° C. togive methoxyquinoline 5 as light tan solid (259 g, 85% yield); ¹H NMR(DMSO) δ 10.18 (s, 1 H), 8.46 (s, 1 H), 7.76 (m, 2 H), 6.84 (s, 1 H),3.99 (s, 3 H), 2.55 (s, 3 H), 2.09 (s, 3 H); ¹³C NMR (DMSO) δ168.36,160.99, 158.07, 144.86, 135.87, 128.27, 122.78, 119.26, 108.80, 101.20,55.69, 25.08, 23.97.

2-Methylquinoline-4,6-diamine (7): Ammonium acetate (1.3 kg) was meltedand methoxyquinoline 5 (256 g, 1.11 mol) was added. The dark solutionwas refluxed at 135 for 4 h. After LC/MS indicated conversion of 5(M+1=231) to intermediate 6 (M+1=216), the reaction mixture was pouredinto 37% HCl (2.1 L) and water (800 mL). The mixture was refluxed for 10h and then cooled to ambient temperature for overnight. LC/MS indicatedconversion of all intermediate 6 to diaminoquinoline 7 (M+1=174). Themixture was cooled to 5° C. and the resulting dihydrochloride salt wascollected by filtration. The salt was dissolved in water (1.5 L) at 75°C. Charcoal (13 g, Darco G-60, −100 mesh) was charged to the darksolution, the mixture was refluxed for 45 minutes and was filteredthrough Celite. The yellow filtrate was cooled and the pH adjusted to 14using 35% aqueous NaOH (1 kg). The resulting precipitate was collectedby filtration, washed with copious amounts of water and dried in vacuoat 60° C. to give diaminoquinoline 7 as off-white solid (136 g, 71%yield); ¹H NMR (DMSO) δ 7.41 (m, 1 H), 6.95 (m, 2 H), 6.30 (s, 1 H),6.03 (br s, 2 H), 5.05 (br, s, 2 H), 2.32 (s, 3 H); ¹³C NMR (DMSO) δ153.42, 149.46, 144.28, 142.09, 128.84, 120.59, 118.60, 102.15, 101.11,24.42.

N˜6˜-(2-chloro-6-methylpyrinidin-4-yl)-2-methylquinoline-4,6-diamine(9): Diaminoquinoline 7 (72.0 g, 0.416 mol) and2,4-dichloro-6-methylpyrimidine (8) (67.8 g, 0.416 mol) were suspendedin ethylene glycol (1 L). Addition of 37% HCl (35 mL, 0.43 mol) resultedin a yellow solution which was heated to and held at 50° C. for 4.5 h.The mixture was diluted with chilled water (1L) which resulted in athick white paste-like precipitate and the mixture was filtered throughCelite. The Celite and solid containing the product and bis-substitutedby-product was slurried in water (4 L) and the Celite and insolubleby-product were removed by filtration. The filtrate pH was adjusted to14 using IN aqueous NaOH (1 L) resulting in precipitation of productwhich was removed by filtration. The damp product was transferred to arotovap flask and dried in vacuo by azeotropic water removal withtoluene (3×1.5 L). Product 9 was obtained as an off-white solid (33.4 g,27% yield; Notebook reference A134-137). Another batch of 9 (7.4 g, 17%yield; Notebook reference A134-134) was similarly obtained by reactionof 7 (25.0 g, 0.144 mol) and recovery as above; MS [M+1]=300, 302; ¹³CNMR (DMSO) δ 167.51, 162.58, 159.22, 157.61, 151.05, 145.99, 133.17,128.96, 125.39, 117.38, 114.23, 102.45, 102.26, 24.68, 23.19.

CHMC-1: A suspension of intermediate 9 (32.7 g, 0.109 mol) anddiisopropylethylamine (20.0 mL, 0.115 mol) in ethylene glycol (500 mL)was heated to 90° C. to give a golden solution.2-Amino-5-diethylaminopentane (32.0 mL, 0.165 mol) was added and themixture was heated to and held at 110° C. for 5.5 h. The mixture wascooled to room temperature and EtoAc (750 mL) and IN aqueous NaOH (500mL) were added resulting in a thick white paste-like precipitate. Thesolid was removed by filtration through Celite and the filtrate layerswere separated. The aqueous layer was twice basified using 1N NaOH (300mL) and back-extracted using EtOAc (750 mL). The combined organic layerswere washed with brine (3×750 mL), filtered through Celite and solventremoved in vacuo to give a brown oil (44 g). Heptane was added to theoil and allowed to sit for several days before decanting the solvent.The oil along with 12 g of crude oil from another batch were purified bysilica gel (1.5 kg) flash column chromatography using EtOAc/MeOH/NEt₃(7:3:0.5).

Chemical compounds are examined for their ability to inhibit the Rac1binding interaction with GEF in a complex formation assay.

FIG. 1. shows identification of NSC23766 as an inhibitor of Rac1-Triointeraction. In the upper panel of FIG. 1, the inhibitory effect of apanel of compounds predicted by Virtual Screening on Rac1 interactionwith TrioN was tested in a complex formation assay. 0.5 μg of(His)₆-tagged TrioN was incubated with GST alone or nucleotide-freeGST-Rac1 (2 μg) in the presence or absence of 1 mM indicated NCIcompound and 10 μl suspended glutathione-agarose beads. After anincubation at 4° C. for minutes, the beads associated (His)₆-TrioN weredetected by anti-His Western blotting. In the lower panel of FIG. 1, theeffect of the compounds on Cdc42 binding to Intersectin was determinedsimilarly. ˜1 μg of GST or GST-tagged Intersectin was incubated with thenucleotide-free, (His)₆-tagged Cdc42 (0.25 μg) under similar conditions.Data are representative of the results from four independentexperiments.

For this purpose, Trio and Tiam-1, which specifically activate Rac1 butnot Cdc42 (Gao et al., 2001, which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety) and Intersectin, a Cdc42-specific GEF (Karnoub et al.,2001, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), areused to assay the binding activity to their respective substrates in thepresence of 1 mM of each individual compound. Trio and Tiam-1co-precipitate with GST-Rac1, but not GST or GST-Cdc42. The inhibitoryeffect of compound 23766 appears to be specific towards the interactionbetween Rac1 and its GEFs since it does not interfere with the Cdc42binding to Intersectin nor RhoA binding to PDZ-RhoGEF (FIG. 1). Further,the inhibitory effect of compound 23766 on Rac1 is dose dependent (FIG.2).

FIG. 2. shows dose dependent specific inhibition of GEF interaction withRac1 by NSC23766. In FIG. 2A, 0.5 μg of (His)₆-tagged TrioN wasincubated with GST alone or nucleotide-free, GST-fused Cdc42 or Rac1 (2μg) in the binding buffer containing different concentrations ofNSC23766 and 10 μl suspended glutathione-agarose. After an incubation at4° C. for 30 minutes, the beads associated (His)₆-TrioN were detected byanti-His Western blotting. The blots were quantified by densitometryanalysis. The results are representative of three measurements. In FIG.2B, myc-tagged Tiam1 expressed in Cos-7 cell lysates were incubated with(His)₆-Rac1 in the presence of increasing concentrations of NSC23766.The association of Rac1 with Tiam1 was examined by anti-His blot afteranti-myc immunoprecipitation. In FIG. 2C, the AU-tagged PDZ-RhoGEF wasexpressed in Cos-7 lysates and incubated with GST or GST-RhoA in thepresence of varying concentrations of NSC23766. The RhoA associatedPDZ-RhoGEF was probed with anti-AU antibody after affinity precipitationby glutathione agarose beads. In FIG. 2D, (His)₆-Rac1 loaded with GTPγ Swas incubated with GST-BcrGAP or GST-PAK1 (PBD) in the presence orabsence of 200 μM NSC23766 and the interaction with GSTBcrGAP orGST-PAK1 was probed by anti-His blot after affinity precipitation byglutathione agarose beads.

To determine if compound 23766 is capable of inhibiting theGEF-stimulates nucleotide exchange of Rac1, the mantGDP dissociationassays of Rac1 are carried out in the presence of increasing doses ofcompound 23766. In FIG. 3. NSC23766 was effective in specificallyinhibiting Rac1 GDP/GTP exchange stimulated by GEF. In FIG. 3A, NSC23766inhibited TrioN catalyzed GDP/GTP exchange of Rac1 in a dose dependentmanner. 200 nM Rac1 loaded with mant-GDP was incubated at 25° C. in anexchange buffer containing 100 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCk₂, 50 mM Tris-HCl (PH7.6), and 0.5 mM GTP in the absence (top line) or presence of 100 nMTrioN. Increasing concentrations of NSC23766 were included in theexchange buffer as indicated. In FIG. 3B, NSC23766 had no effect on theIntersectin-stimulated GDP/GTP exchange of Cdc42. 200 nM Cdc42 loadedwith mant-GDP was incubated in the exchange buffer in the absence (topline) or presence of 100 nM Intersectin with or without 200 μM NSC23766.In FIG. 3C, the exchange reaction of RhoA catalyzed by PDZ-RhoGEF wascarried out similarly in the presence or absence of 200 μM NSC23766.

As shown in FIG. 3A, at increasing concentrations compound 23766 is ableto block the mantGDP/GTP exchange catalyzed by Trio in a dose-dependentmanner. On the other hand, compound 23766 has little impact on theIntersectin-stimulated mantGDP/GTP exchange of Cdc42 at similar doses(FIG. 3B), nor on the PDZ-RhoGEF-stimulated mantGDP/GTP exchange ofRhoA. These results demonstrate that in vitro compounds, e.g., 23766,are able to specifically inhibit the interaction and activation of Rac1by its GEFs.

Inhibitory effect of compound 23766 on Rac1 activity in vivo. Infibroblasts, Rac is activated by diverse stimuli including serum andPDGF (Hawkins et al., 1995, which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety). Rac activation in these situations is expected to bemediated by one or more Rac-specific GEFs such as Tiam1. To evaluate howcompound 23766 can affect Rac activity in vivo, NIH 3T3 cells grown in10% calf serum are treated with compound 23766 in differentconcentrations overnight, and the activation state of endogenous Rac1 incells is detected by using the probe, GST-PAK (PBD) domain, that canspecifically complex with Rac1-GTP. FIG. 4. shows that NSC23766 waseffective in specifically inhibiting Rac1 activation in cells. In FIG.4A, the activation states of endogenous Rac1, Cdc42 and RhoA in NIH3T3cells with or without NSC23766 treatment were detected by the effectorpull-down assays. At 80% confluency in the presence of 10% serum, NIH3T3 cells in 100 mm dishes were treated with the indicated dosages ofNSC23766 for 12 hours. Cell lysates containing similar amount of Rac1,Cdc42 or RhoA were incubated with the agarose immobilized GST-PAK1,GST-WASP or GST-Rhotekin, and the co-precipitates were subjected toanti-Rac1, Cdc42 or RhoA Western blot analysis to reveal the amount ofGTP-Bound Rho proteins. In FIG. 4B, the inhibitory effect of NSC23766 onthe PDGF-stimulated Rac1 activation was determined by the GST-PAK1pull-down assay. Serum starved NIH 3T3 cells in the DMEM medium withdifferent dosages of NSC23766 were treated with 10 nM PDGF for 2minutes. In FIG. 4C, NSC23766 inhibited PDGF-stimulated lamellipodiaformation. After overnight serum starvation in the presence or absenceof 50 μM NSC23766, Swiss 3T3 cells were treated with 10 nM PDGF for theindicated time. The cells were fixed and stained with Rhodamine-labeledphalloidin.

As shown in FIG. 4A, compound 23766 strongly inhibits Rac1 activationinduced by serum. Densitometric analysis reveals that the IC50 ofcompound 23766 is about 40 μM under these conditions. Meanwhile, theinhibitory effect of compound 23766 appears to be specific toward Racamong Rho GTPases, since the activation state of Cdc42 in these cellsunder serum-stimulation is unaffected by the presence of compound 23766.Interestingly, treatment with this reagent leads to a slightly increasedlevel of RhoA-GTP in cells, consistent with previous reports suggestingthat Rac1 can counter-react with RhoA activity. To examine if compound23766 can affect Rac1 activation by PDGF stimulation, serum starved NIH3T3 cells in the presence or absence of the compound are challenged with10 nM PDGF for 2 minutes, and the cell lysates are assayed for theactive Rac1-GTP species. Comparing with the PDGF-stimulated Rac activityin the absence of compound 23766, the cells treated with 50 μM 23766displays a significantly reduction of GTP-bound Rac (FIG. 4B), and thepresence of 100 μM 23766 lead to lower than basal level of Rac1-GTP inthe cells. Thus, consistent with the in vitro Rac1-GEF interactionresults, compound 23766 is able to specifically inhibit Rac1 activity invivo.

PDGF activates Rac and induces Rac-mediated membrane ruffles andlamellipodia in fibroblasts (Hawkins et al., 1995; Ridley et al., 1992,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). Toevaluate the ability of compound 23766 to inhibit Rac1-mediatedmorphological changes, the actin cytoskeleton structures, induced byPDGF in the absence or presence of compound 23766, was examined. Asshown in FIG. 4C, 10 nM PDGF potently stimulates membrane ruffling andlamellipodial formation in Swiss3T3 cells. However, in the presence of100 μM 23766, PDGF is only marginally effective in inducing lamellipodiaat the cell edges at 5 min and completely ineffective at 10 min when thecontrol cells that are not treated with compound 23766 displayssignificant lamellipodia structures. These results suggest that compound23766 is effective in inhibiting Rac-mediated actin reorganization.

Compound 23766 specifically inhibits serum- or Trio-induced cell growth.Rho GTPase activities are important in cell growth regulation.Overexpression of dominant-negative Rac slows cell growth (Zheng et al.,1995b, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).Conversely, constitutively active Rac increases growth rate offibroblasts (Khosravi-Far et al., 1995, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety). Since compound 23766 is able to decrease Racactivity in NIH 3T3 cells, its effect on the growth properties of normalNIH 3T3 cells and the NIH 3T3 cells expressing constitutively activeRac1, L61Rac1 was examine.

FIG. 5. shows that NSC23766 specifically inhibited Rac GEF stimulatedcell growth and transformation. In FIG. 5A, wild type (WT) or L61Rac1expressing NIH 3T3 cells were grown in 5% serum in the presence ( - - -) or absence (−) of 100 μM NSC23766. The cells were split in triplicatein 6-well plates at a density of 5×10₄ cells per well. The GTP-boundL61Rac1 and endogenous Rac1 of the L61Rac1-expressing cells were probedby GST-PAK1 pull-down after 12 hour treatment with increasingconcentrations of NSC23766. In FIG. 5B, WT or the GEF (Tiam1, Lbc orVav) expressing NIH 3T3 cells were grown in 5% serum in the presence( - - - ) or absence (−) of 100 μM NSC23766, and the cell numbers weredetermined by daily cell counting. In FIG. 5C, GST, L61Rac1, or Tiam1transfected cells were treated with 50 μM NSC23766 every two days. Thefoci numbers of the respective cells were quantified 14 days aftertransfection. In FIG. 5D, a stable transfectant of Tiam1-expressing NIH3T3 cells was cultured in 0.3% soft-agar medium for 14 days in thepresence or absence of 100 μM NSC23766. The number and the morphology ofthe colonies were examined under a microscope.

Comparison of the growth rates of the cells in the absence or presenceof compound 23766 shows that compound 23766 slow the growth of wild typeNIH 3T3 cells while having no effect on the growth rate of Rac1L61expressing cells (FIG. 5A). The level of GTP-bound GST-Rac1L61 remainsunchanged with or without the compound treatment, whereas the endogenousRac activity is deceased significantly by the presence of compound 23766(data not shown). These results suggest that the inhibitory effect ofcompound 23766 on cell growth correlates with its ability to inhibitcellular Rac activity.

Due to their ability to directly activate Rho GTPases, Dbl family GEFsare potent stimulators of cell proliferation. Compound 23766 is capableof inhibiting the cell growth induced by the Rac specific GEF Trio, butnot that stimulated by the Rho-specific GEF Lbc, the Cdc42-specific GEFIntersectin, or the multiple Rho protein-activating GEF Vav (FIG. 5B).Thus compound 23766 is effective in specifically inhibiting cell growthcaused by GEF-induced Rac activation.

Reversal of the PC-3 tumor cell phenotypes by compound 23766. Elevationof Rac1 activity is associated with cancer cell hyperproliferative andinvasive properties. Next the effect of compound 23766 is tested on thegrowth and invasion capabilities of a prostate cancer cell line, PC-3.PC-3 cells are malignant prostate adenocarcinoma cells derived from thebone metastases of a patient with prostate cancer (Kaighn et al., 1979,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). They aretransforming and highly invasive (Lang et al., 2002, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The mRNA of the PTENtumor suppressor is undetectable in these cells (Bastola et al., 2002,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), and loss ofPTEN has previously been correlated with Rac1 hyperactivation due to thesignificant increase of PIP₃ level (Liliental et al., 2000, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety). When the activity ofendogenous Rac1 in PC-3 cells is examined by probing with GST-PAK (PBD),a ˜100% higher level of GTP-bound Rac than that of the normal prostateepithelial RWPE-1 cells is observed (FIG. 5A). Consistent with theresults obtained from fibroblasts, compound 23766 is able to inhibitRac1 activity in PC-3 cells (FIG. 6A). Correlating with the decreasedRac1 activity, the proliferation rates of the compound 23766 treatedPC-3 cells are inhibited by compound 23766 in a dose dependent manner(FIG. 6A). These results suggest that compound 23766 can effectivelyinhibit PC-3 tumor cell growth through down-regulation of Rac1 activity.

FIG. 6. shows that NSC23766 inhibited the proliferation, anchorageindependent growth and invasion of PC-3 prostate cancer cells. In FIG.6A, PC-3 cells were grown in 5% calf serum supplemented with theindicated concentrations of NSC23766. The cells were split in triplicatein 96-wells at 1.5×10₃ cells per well. Cell numbers were assayed byusing CellTiter 96 AQueous cell proliferation assay kit in differentdays. In FIG. 6B, PC-3 and RWPE-1 prostate epithelial cells (1.25×10₃per well) were grown in 0.3% agarose in different doses of NSC23766, andthe number of colonies formed in soft agar was quantified 12 days afterplating. In FIG. 6C, PC-3 cells were placed in an invasion chamber for24 hrs at 37° C. in the absence or presence of 25 μM NSC23766. Cellsinvaded through Matrigel matrix were visualized with Giemasa staining.

Given that PC-3 cells contain hyperactive Rac1 activity, the ability ofPC-3 cells to grow on soft agar and the effect of compound 23766 on itsanchorage independent growth property can be tested. FIG. 6B shows thatPC-3 cells readily form colonies ten days after being placed on softagar, under conditions in which the normal prostate epithelia RWPE-1cells are unable to grow. Compound 23766 efficiently blocks the colonyforming activity of PC-3 cells. Approximately 10% and 1% colony-formingactivities remain after treatment of the cells with 25 μM and 50 μMcompound 23766, respectively. Moreover, the size of colonies of thetreated cells appears much smaller than those of the untreated ones(FIG. 6B). PC-3 cells are reported to possess highly invasive activity(Lang et al., 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety), which is evident in a Matri-gel invasion assay. Under similarconditions, RWPE-1 cells are non-invasive. At a dose of 25 μM, compound23766 significantly inhibits PC-3 cell invasion (FIG. 6C).

Taken together, these results show that the active agent is able todownregulate Rac1 activity of PC-3 tumor cells which likely results inthe reversal of the proliferation, anchorage independent growth andinvasion phenotypes.

In addition, information regarding procedural or other detailssupplementary to those set forth herein, are described in citedreferences specifically incorporated herein by reference.

It is be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications orvariations can be made to the preferred embodiment described hereinwithout departing from the novel teachings of the present invention. Allsuch modifications and variations are intended to be incorporated hereinand within the scope of the claims.

REFERENCES

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1. A pharmaceutical composition comprisingN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamineand a pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.
 2. The pharmaceuticalcomposition according to claim 1, whereinN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediaminecompound is at least 1% by weight.
 3. The pharmaceutical compositionaccording to claim 1 further comprising a second pharmaceutically activeagent in addition toN6-(2-((4-(diethylamino)-1-methylbutyl)amino)-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl)-2-methyl-4,6-quinolinediamine.4. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 3, wherein thesecond pharmaceutically active agent is selected from the groupconsisting of farnesyl protein transferase inhibitors, prenyl-proteintransferase inhibitors, geranylgeranyl-protein transferase inhibitors,toxins and combinations thereof.